Kay Ivey took over as governor after Robert Bentley resigned. Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Wallace Golding
Community Editor
Governor Kay Ivey has undoubtedly had one of the busiest weeks of her political career following her abrupt and unexpected swearing in on the evening of April 10. Sworn in following the former governor Robert Bentley’s resignation, Ivey immediately found herself at the helm of a ship plagued by scandal for most of the last year.
She immediately made her mark, signing into law a bill prohibiting judicial override in capital punishment cases on her first full day in office, April 11. Additionally, on her first and second days, respectively, Ivey fired Jon Mason, the husband of Rebekah Caldwell Mason who allegedly engaged in an affair with former governor Bentley, and abolished the state’s Office of Rural Development.
Still, however, there exists a degree of ignorance amongst the public regarding the story of Ivey and her rise to the governorship.
Long before she entered the Old Senate Chambers of the State House to applause to be sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor, Ivey, 72, grew up in the southern Alabama town of Camden. Located in Wilcox County, Camden boasted a population of 2,008 at the 2010 census.
Ivey graduated from Auburn University in 1967. While in college, she campaigned for former governor George Wallace, who is most notably remembered for his “stand in the schoolhouse door,” a desperate attempt to prevent the desegregation of the University of Alabama.
After graduation, Ivey spent stints as a high school teacher, a bank officer and as assistant director of the Alabama Development Office, which is now known as the Alabama Department of Commerce.
In 1982, Ivey ran unsuccessfully as a democrat for the office of state auditor but returned to the political sphere when she was appointed to be the Director of Government Affairs and Communications for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in 1985. She remained in this position until 1998.
Ivey became state treasurer in 2003, defeating Stephen Black, the grandson of former United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, making her the first republican treasurer since Reconstruction. She was re-elected to the position in 2006.
In June 2009, Ivey announced plans to run for governor but abandoned these plans in March 2010 to instead pursue the office of lieutenant governor. She won this office in November 2010, obstructing democratic incumbent Jim Folsom Jr.’s run at his unprecedented fourth term in the office.
Three years after winning re-election, Ivey found herself thrown into a situation she “never desired.” As she placed her left hand on the Bible and held her right hand in the air, the Old Senate Chambers fell silent, each person in the room knowing they were witnessing history. Alabama’s second female governor was taking office, inheriting a mess but still somehow managing to flash a smile.
“I ask for your help and patience as we together steady the ship and improve Alabama’s image,” Ivey said. “Despite the challenges we face, today’s transition should be viewed as a positive opportunity. It is a demonstration of our successful practice of the rule of law and the principles of democracy.”
Wallace Golding can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @WGolding_4.
