Jackson County Commission Chairman Bill Nance recently announced his intent to seek re-election.
Nance stated, “I am excited to affirm that on January 5th, I officially qualified to run for re-election as Chairman of the Jackson County Commission.
Since Governor Kay Ivey appointed me to the position in May 2021 and the people of Jackson County elected me as Chairman in November 2022, I have truly enjoyed serving our county and hope to keep building on all the progress we’ve made these past five years.
As retired military, I will always honor the commitment to serve when called to serve. I was deeply humbled to have been called on by our state governor and then the people of Jackson County when they elected me to serve as their Commission Chair for a full term.
My experience in service began in the United States Army, where I served for over 34 years, rising through the ranks from Private to Major General.
I also served in positions from Infantry Platoon Leader, to Company Commander, to Deputy Commanding General of the Space and Strategic Defense Command, as well as Program Director and Program Executive Officer for the National Missile Defense Program.
In 2001, I helped lead the Bush administration’s strategic review to develop new approaches to defend the United States against ballistic missile attack.
During my military service, our family moved many times across our Nation and overseas but I feel very blessed that my wife Jonnie and I have found our way to the beautiful and wonderful place of Jackson County and now call it home.
As the Tennessee Valley grows, Jackson County is growing as well, with increased population, new residential and retail development, and expanding manufacturing.
Our population has grown from 52,548 in 2020 to 53,780 in 2024, and our County’s Gross Domestic Product has increased from $1.518 billion in 2022 to $1.996 billion in 2024. Since 2021, local industries have invested nearly $184 million, and an average of 120 new homes have been built each year from 2022 to 2024.
This growth is creating good-paying jobs that help attract our children to stay in or return to Jackson County to live, work and raise their families.
Many people across our county have contributed to this progress and we must continue working together to support and sustain this growth over the next 10–15 years while preserving our county’s beauty and quality of life.
To support our county’s residents over the past five years, our Public Works Department has paved between 20 and 35 miles of roads per year and repaired major slope failures, with County Road 93 slope failure repair expected to be complete early this summer.
Also, the county has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation for a $20M, four-year program to rebuild 35 miles of nine roads that have the highest incidents of accidents causing injuries or fatalities across the county.
Our Solid Waste Department has implemented four initiatives to cleanup unauthorized dump sites, scrap tires on county roads, and support community cleanup days.
These initiatives help keep our county beautiful, increase residents’ property values and attract people and industry to invest in our community.
Our Council on Aging supports our senior citizens through six senior centers across the county, serving approximately 10,400 meals per month, saving our seniors hundreds of thousands of dollars in prescription costs each year, and operating a county transportation service.
Additionally, the commission has completed long-needed major repairs to the courthouse.
These improvements include stabilizing the building’s foundation, repairing damage caused by foundation settlement, repairing the roof, installing additional downspouts, renovating public restrooms, renovating rooms that house county historical documents, and replacing the outdated 1970s HVAC system.
Also, the former DHR building on Liberty Lane has been fully renovated and now serves as the Jackson County Courthouse Annex.
This facility provides the public with a more accessible location from Highway 72 to obtain essential county services.
When Governor Ivey appointed me, she tasked me to ‘make honesty and integrity a priority, be a good steward of the taxpayers’ money and work to instill trust in state government’.
I have and will continue to make her task a primary responsibility, as well as working to make Jackson County the premier place to live, work, raise a family and locate a business.
Serving the people of Jackson County is a very important responsibility, and it is one I will always take seriously.
I ask for your consideration to vote for me to continue serving as Chairman of your County Commission. Thank You!”
The election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.
