State Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), the Republican Caucus nominee for Speaker of the Alabama House, announced today the third round of intended appointments to head House committees.

The appointments will become effective once Ledbetter officially takes the Speaker’s gavel after the chamber’s organizational session in January. Because Republicans hold a 77-member supermajority in the Alabama House, Ledbetter’s selection as the GOP Speaker nominee is considered by many to be tantamount to election.

“These appointments represent a mix of veteran chairs with valuable experience and newly-appointed members of the leadership team with fresh perspectives,” Ledbetter said.  “All of them have the knowledge and skills necessary to lead their committees and ensure that bills and measures are well vetted before reaching the House floor.”

The planned chair appointments are:

• State Rep. Ginny Shaver (R – Leesburg), House Children & Senior Advocacy Committee: Elected to the Alabama House in 2018, Shaver is a certified municipal clerk formerly employed by the City of Gadsden and the town of Leesburg and former owner of Shaver Tax & Bookkeeping.
  Shaver previously served as a member of the Children & Senior Advocacy committee that she will lead and has sponsored several bills dealing with child-related issues.
  
• State Rep. Chris Blackshear (R – Phenix City), House Financial Services Committee: Blackshear, who previously served as a city councilman and mayor pro tempore in Phenix City, was originally appointed as chair of the House Financial Services Committee by Speaker Mac McCutcheon in 2019.
  He was employed by TSYS, a global payment company, for 28 years and rose to the position of Vice President of Relationship Management for North America before retiring in 2021.
  Blackshear was elected to the Alabama House in a 2016 special election to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Lesley Vance, who passed away while in office.
  
• State Rep. Matt Simpson (R – Daphne), House Ethics & Campaign Finance Committee: Elected to the Alabama House in 2018, Simpson previously served as a member of the Ethics & Campaign Finance Committee that he will soon chair.
  A former prosecutor with roughly a dozen years of experience, Simpson worked as the child victims prosecutor for Baldwin County and was also employed with the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office. He is an attorney with the Davis, Davis & Associates law firm, where he specializes in adoptions, mediations, civil litigation, probate law, and business law cases.
  
• State Rep. David Standridge (R – Hayden), House Rural & Urban Development Committee: Standridge was elected to represent District 34 in a special election in 2012.  His past public service includes the positions of Blount County probate judge, chairman of the Blount County Commission, and member of the Blount County Board of Education.  Standridge served 21 years in law enforcement and continues his work on the family farm.
  He previously served as vice chair of the Rural & Urban Development Committee that he will soon lead and has chaired the House Rural Caucus since 2014.
  
• State Rep. Corley Ellis (R – Columbiana), House Insurance Committee: Ellis was originally elected to the Alabama House in a 2016 special election and for the past quadrennium has served as vice chair of the House Insurance Committee he will soon lead.
  Prior to his election to the House, Ellis served as a Shelby County Commissioner representing District 1 for 10 years, and was selected by his peers to serve as the chairman of the commission for two of those years. He owns and operates Ellis Properties, Inc., a real estate brokerage firm in Shelby County.
  
• State Rep. Chris Sells (R – Greenville), House State Government Committee: Sells served throughout the previous quadrennium as vice chair of the State Government Committee that he will soon lead.
  Elected to the Alabama House in 2014, Sells is employed as a small business owner and founded Sells Medical Equipment in Greenville.
  
• State Rep. Andy Whitt (R – Harvest), House Economic Development & Tourism Committee: Whitt was originally appointed chairman of the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee under Speaker Mac McCutcheon in 2022 following the resignation of former State Rep. Becky Nordgren (R – Gadsden).
  Elected to the House in 2018, Whitt is a community banker and developer and volunteers with numerous community charities, foundations, civic groups, and other organizations.
  
• State Rep. Allen Treadaway (R – Morris), House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee: Treadaway, who retired as the assistant chief of the Birmingham Police Department following a 31-year law enforcement career, was originally appointed as chairman of the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee in 2016.
  Elected to the Alabama House in 2006, Treadaway is a former president of the Birmingham Fraternal Order of Police and former director of Toys for Tots.