10 Things You Didn’t Know about Kay Ivey
Kay Ivey is the current Governor of Alabama. However, she was a familiar figure in the state’s politics beforehand, seeing as how she had been both the state treasurer and the lieutenant governor. In recent times, Ivey is similar to other U.S. governors in that her name has been showing up in the news in connection to the current COVID-19 crisis.
1. Born and Raised in Camden, AL
Ivey was both born and raised in Camden, AL. Said city was founded on land that had been donated by a man named Thomas Dunn from his holdings for the purpose of serving as the county seat of Wilcox County, which is a status that it retains in the present time. Camden cannot be considered very populous, which is perhaps unsurprising when the whole of the county isn’t very populous.
2. Studied At Auburn University
Eventually, Ivey studied at Auburn University, which is the second biggest of the universities that can be found in the state of Alabama. It is interesting to note that the school has gone through a number of names over the course of its existence. First, it started out as the East Alabama Male College. Second, it was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama when it became a land-grant institution. Third, it was renamed the Alabama Polytechnic Institute because of the influence of William Leroy Broun, who believed that both the classics and the sciences were important for the future of the school. Fourth, it was renamed Auburn University when it had the expanded curriculum as well as the wide range of programs of a true university.
3. Participated in a Blackface Skit in University
In 2019, it came out that Ivey had participated in a blackface skit when she was still at Auburn University. Ivey said that she didn’t remember either the incident or being interviewed about the incident on student radio, both of which happened more than five decades ago. However, she apologized for it. Furthermore, Ivey made it very clear that she didn’t consider it to be alright because it was “acceptable behavior” for a student in the mid-1960s, saying instead that said incident doesn’t reflect either her or her gubernatorial administration in the present time.
4. Spent Some Time Living In California
After getting married, Ivey spent some time living in the state of California. There, she worked as a high school teacher. However, when Ivey got divorced, she returned home to the state of Alabama where she went to work with the Merchants National Bank. It is interesting to note that she seems to have retained something of a fondness for schools, seeing as how she proceeded to launch a school relations program focused on improving financial literacy.
5. Elected State Treasurer
In 2003, Ivey was elected the state treasurer of Alabama. It is interesting to note that she was the first Republican to be elected to said position since Reconstruction, which refers to the period following the American Civil War. This can sound rather strange to people who are used to post-Southern strategy U.S. politics, but this can be explained by the fact that it was the Republican Party that led the Union to victory over the Confederacy.
6. Oversaw the Collapse of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition
Ivey’s time as state treasurer is best-remembered because she oversaw the near-total collapse of the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program. In short, Alabama residents could invest in the program in exchange for guaranteed four-year tuition at a state college. However, the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program failed because most state colleges increased their cost of tuition by three times the inflation rate or more, which caught the people who had set up the program completely and utterly by surprise because that was so unprecedented.
7. Elected Lieutenant Governor
Later, Ivey was elected to the position of lieutenant governor. Initially, she went for the position of governor, but since there were seven Republican candidates in the same election, she decided to drop out in preference for going for lieutenant governor instead. In total, Ivey was elected lieutenant governor on two occasions, which was notable because that made her the first Republican to be re-elected for said position in said state.
8. Succeeded Robert Bentley
In 2017, Bentley succeeded her predecessor Robert J. Bentley. For those who are curious, it turned out that Bentley was having an extramarital affair with his senior political adviser, which came out when Bentley fired the Law Enforcement Agency secretary. As such, people started looking into what had happened, with the result that Bentley was found to have violated the law as well as ethical guidelines. Something that saw him resigning before pleading guilty to a couple of misdemeanor charges.
9. Voted For Roy Moore
On the whole, Ivey is conservative-leaning when it comes to her politics. For instance, when the allegations of Roy Moore sexually abusing minors came out, she continued to support him. This wasn’t a case of Ivey not believing in the allegations. Instead, she said that she had no reason to not believe the allegations but she would vote for Moore anyways for the purpose of protecting the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a fair amount of criticism from a wide range of parties.
10. Late to Issue a Stay-At-Home Order
Ivey is one of the governors who resisted issuing a stay-at-home order regarding the current COVID-19 crisis. However, she has now done so, with the result that people in the state of Alabama are now required to stay at home except for “essential activities.” Apparently, April is expected to be a bad month, which explains the increased severity of the measures used to combat COVID-19. This is particularly true because Alabama has already seen an increase in the number of cases, thus explaining much about the whole situation.
