After a four-year run in the state House of Representatives and two terms as Alabama’s secretary of state, Republican John Merrill announced Thursday that he will be joining Waggoner Engineering as the director of public policy and strategic markets for Alabama.

In 2021, Merrill said he would step down from office in 2022 after news reports revealed an “inappropriate relationship.”

Republican Wes Allen was elected Secretary of State in November.

“We are excited to leave this time of public service and enter the private sector once again,” Merrill wrote in a press release. “Thank you for your support and encouragement as I have seen you during my visits in your counties every year over the last 10 years, and I look forward to continuing to see you in my new role.”

Merrill, who served as president of the student government association at the University of Alabama for the 1986-87 school year, said in 2014 that he had “never considered anything other than a life dedicated to public service.”

He won his race for district 62 of the state House in 2010 with “the highest percentage garnered by a candidate in any contested House race that year.” Merrill also participated in two congressional internships, and for a short time, ran for U.S. Senate before dropping out of the race.

Merrill said he was 14 years old when he met former governor Don Siegelman while the former was running for secretary of state. He said he’d had his eyes on the role since then.

“As the longest serving Republican Secretary of State in Alabama history, it has been my honor to preside over the safest and most secure elections in the United States,” Merrill wrote Thursday. “Since I have been your Secretary, we have registered more than 2.2 million voters and now have a state record of 3.7 million voters. We have broken every record in voter registration and voter participation in Alabama.”

Alabama’s voter registration saw a spike in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs. Wade in June, but notably had the lowest voter turnout in 36 years at only 38.5% during the midterm elections — an uptick from the 23.4% who voted in the primaries.

Merrill also lauded a decreased wait time for business services.

“We have reduced the wait time from a seven to nine months delay to a 24-hour turnaround for the last six and one-half years, and we have done so with 25% fewer employees (49 down to 36), because we are no longer moving at the speed of government, but at the speed of business,” he wrote.

Karen Guthrie, Merrill’s executive assistant and scheduler, will be joining Waggoner as the administrator for Alabama and Florida.

Merrill will make the move to the private sector January 16.