MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — After 33 years of service, State Rep. Howard Sanderford (R – Huntsville) announced on Monday that he will not be a candidate for reelection during the 2022 campaign cycle.

Sanderford was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in a 1989 special election.

Sanderford currently serves as chairman of the House Boards, Agencies, and Commissions Committee and co-chairs the Joint Legislative Sunset Committee, which is in charge of overseeing, reviewing, and renewing roughly 100 occupational licensure boards and other agencies across Alabama.

“Representing the citizens of Huntsville and Madison County for almost 33 years has been the honor of a lifetime, but my heart tells me this is the time to step aside and allow someone else to take the reins of leadership,” Sanderford said in a statement. “I will leave the Legislature with the knowledge that Alabama is a better place to live, work, and raise a family than it was when I first took office more than three decades ago.”

Sanderford represented Alabama in multiple ways during his service. Most recently, he was a part of the passing of House Bill 561 which has helped small businesses that require occupational licenses to better react to staffing shortages and other unexpected personnel issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to his election to the Alabama House, Sanderford worked for IBM and served as the corporation’s manager of the General Systems Division in Huntsville until his retirement in 1987. He later founded and operated Computer Leasing Company, Inc. in Huntsville.

Sanderford also serves as a member of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Board of Directors, past president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, past chair and member of the Volunteers of America of North Alabama Board, past vice president of the Metropolitan YMCA Board, to name a few.