Preceded by Jim Folsom Alma mater Auburn University Education Auburn University Political party Republican Party Republican Party | Succeeded by Young Boozer Name Kay Ivey Preceded by Lucy Baxley Religion Baptist | |
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Born October 15, 1944 (age 79)
Camden, Alabama, U.S. ( 1944-10-15 ) Role Lieutenant Governor of Alabama Office Lieutenant Governor of Alabama since 2011 | ||
Interview with lt governor kay ivey
Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th and current Governor of Alabama since April 2017. Ivey, a member of the Republican Party, served as the 38th Alabama State Treasurer from 2003 to 2011, and later became the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama; she was the first Republican woman elected in this state, serving from January 2011 until April 2017. She assumed office as governor on April 10, 2017 following the resignation of two-term governor Robert Bentley, who left office after pleading guilty to criminal charges involving campaign finance violations. Bentley was also facing impeachment following a sex scandal at the time of his resignation. Ivey is Alabama's second female governor, after Lurleen Wallace, who served from 1967 until 1968, and first female Republican governor.
Contents
- Interview with lt governor kay ivey
- Merry christmas from alabama lt governor kay ivey
- Early life education and early political career
- State Treasurer
- Lieutenant Governor 20112017
- 2018 gubernatorial election
- Tenure
- References
Merry christmas from alabama lt governor kay ivey
Early life, education, and early political career
Ivey was born in Camden, Alabama on October 15, 1944. Growing up in Camden, Alabama, she worked on her father’s farm. She later graduated from Auburn University where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, even becoming president of her first year pledge class, and served in the Student Government Association all four years. In 1967, she moved to California following a marriage and became a high school teacher for several years. Following the end of her marriage, Ivey returned to Alabama and landed a position with Merchants National Bank where she launched a school relations program to promote financial literacy. In 1979, she was appointed by then-Governor Fob James to serve in the state cabinet. She later served as the law clerk of the Alabama House of Representative between 1980 and 1982 and served as Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office between 1982 and 1985.
In 1982, Ivey ran unsuccessfully for State Auditor as a Democrat. She was Director of Government Affairs and Communications for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education from 1985 until 1998.
State Treasurer
Ivey took office as state treasurer in 2003, after defeating Stephen Black, the grandson of former United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, in the 2002 general election, by a margin of 52–48%. In 2006, Ivey was re-elected over Democrat Steve Segrest by a 60–40% margin. She was the first Republican elected state treasurer since Reconstruction.
As Treasurer, Ivey put the sources of state’s billions of dollars in tax revenue, as well as the state's total expenditures, online for public view. She updated the office's technology, trimmed the payroll and adopted private-sector management techniques. As a result, Treasurer Ivey saved the taxpayer nearly five million dollars in administrative costs during her term.
As Treasurer, Ivey also oversaw the near complete financial collapse of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program. Under this program tens of thousands of Alabaman families were assured by the State that their investment in the program would guarantee their children 4 years of tuition at any state college. Since the program's inception, many colleges have increased the cost of tuition at triple the inflation rate (or higher), so the program became financially unsustainable and was subsequently bailed out by the Alabama state legislature. This unprecedented and unforeseen increase in tuition was not taken into account when the program was developed.
Lieutenant Governor (2011–2017)
Under the Alabama Constitution, Ivey was not eligible to seek re-election to a third term as state treasurer in 2010. Ivey's name surfaced in press speculation about gubernatorial candidates in 2010.
On June 24, 2009, Ivey announced her candidacy for governor at a series of events in Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama. However, on March 31, 2010, Ivey abandoned her run for governor and qualified to run for lieutenant governor. On June 1, 2010, Ivey won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor over State Senator Hank Erwin and Daphne schoolteacher Gene Ponder.
On November 2, 2010, in a Republican sweep of statewide offices, Ivey defeated Democratic incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jim Folsom, Jr., who was seeking an unprecedented fourth term. Ivey won re-election as Lieutenant Governor in November 2014. This would mark the first time a Republican would be re-elected Lieutenant Governor in the state's history
2018 gubernatorial election
On September 7, 2017, Governor Kay Ivey officially announced that she is running for election to a full term in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
Tenure
Ivey was sworn in as Governor of Alabama following the resignation of Robert Bentley on April 10, 2017. She is the second female governor in the state's history. The first was Lurleen Wallace, the wife of George Wallace; she was governor for about 16 months in 1967 and 1968, until her death from cancer.
On May 24, 2017, Ivey signed a bill into law giving protection to all monuments on display for 40 years or more – effectively protecting the state's Confederate monuments.