Candidate for
Mayor; City of Marina

Mayor Ila Mettee-McCutchon's first entry into public elected service began with her election to the city council of Marina in November 1998. After four years on the city council, she was elected Mayor of the city of Marina in November 2002. In addition to serving as Marina's Mayor, she is the 2d Vice Chair of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority board. Previously she served as a US Army officer for 26 years. She began her service with a direct commission into the Women's Army Corps. She transitioned into the Military Intelligence Corps and served in various leadership and staff positions. She successfully commanded Army units at the company, battalion, and brigade level. In addition to assignments in the US, she served as Chief of the Joint Intelligence Center in Panama and on the International Military Staff of NATO in Brussels, Belgium. Ila was selected to attend the Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College, an executive level school, for senior military officers.

Mayor Mettee-McCutchon came to the peninsula in 1994 as a result of the Army's selecting her as the first Garrison Commander of Presidio of Monterey. She was responsible for all facilities and services at the Presidio and former Fort Ord and represented the Army on the Fort Ord Reuse Authority Board. She also served as Installation Commander and Commandant of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Active in the World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area and the Fort Ord Alumni Association while on active duty, Colonel Mettee-McCutchon was voted onto the Board of Directors of both organizations following her retirement in Dec 1997. Choosing Marina as home, she joined the Marina Larger Library Committee and was appointed to the Marina Commission for City Services and Improvement. Ila served on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Monterey Bay, Community Human Services, community advisor to the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, and member of the League of California Cities' Housing and Economic Development Policy Committee. Ila is the Mayors' Association representative to the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Locally, she is active in service organizations such as the Marina Rotary, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Her other community volunteer service includes active membership on the Public Safety Appreciation Committee, the Teachers Appreciation Committee, and the Women's Leadership Council at CSU, Monterey Bay.

Mayor Mettee-McCutchon received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science degree in clinical psychology from Auburn University and worked as a psychologist at the University of Alabama Medical Center before entering the US Army. She has been recognized by Who's Who in American Women for the past eleven years for her achievements. She was selected as a Fellow of California State University, Monterey Bay in 2003.

She is married to John R. McCutchon and they have a daughter, Erin Mettee-McCutchon