The governor has picked Jim Reddoch to take over as mental health commissioner when Zelia Baugh steps down at the end of the week.
Baugh joined Gov. Robert Bentley's Cabinet in January 2011. She said Tuesday she is leaving because her family needs most of her attention now.
Reddoch is a veteran of state government. He served as legal adviser to Gov. Guy Hunt before becoming deputy commissioner of the Department of Mental Health from 1988 to 1992. He served as director of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa from 1992 to 2000 and director of the Taylor Hardin Security Medical Facility from 2000 to 2009. He became executive director of the Indian Rivers Mental Health Center in Tuscaloosa earlier this year.
Bentley said Reddoch's experience will serve the state well.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)