Kay Ivey becomes governor; promises open administration

Kay Ivey Monday became Alabama's 54th governor, in an almost unprecedented fashion.

The former Lt. Gov. took the oath of office Monday evening in the Old Senate Chamber of the State Capitol, less than an hour after Gov. Robert Bentley pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor campaign finance charges and resigned from office, in the Old House Chamber across the way.

The scandals were on the mind of the newly-installed chief executive.

"Today is both a dark day in Alabama, but yet also it’s one of opportunity," Ivey, 72, said in a brief speech after being sworn in by Acting Alabama Chief Justice Lyn Stuart. "I ask for your help and patience as we together steady the Ship of State and improve Alabama’s image."

That image has been damaged by a series of scandals that convulsed Alabama government and crippled state leadership for more than two-and-a-half years. Former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, was convicted on 12 felony ethics violations in June and automatically removed from office. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended for the remainder of his term last September after ordering probate judges to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Bentley was accused of misusing state resources to pursue an affair with senior political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, and later, to cover it up. In an impeachment report filed Friday, witnesses said Bentley obsessed over recovering recordings of conversations he had with Mason that were made by his ex-wife Dianne Bentley, who divorced her husband in 2015 after 50 years of marriage. The report said Bentley sent law enforcement officials to try to recover the tapes or intimidate those he thought had knowledge of them. The report also said Bentley himself threatened aides, telling one that because he was governor, people "bowed to my throne."

Ivey tried to present a break with the scandals in her remarks Monday evening.

"Today’s transition should be viewed as a positive opportunity," Ivey said. "It is a demonstration of our successful practice of rule of law and the principles of democracy."

The new governor planned to meet with legislative leaders and said her administration "will be open, it will be honest and it will be transparent." Ivey did not mention any other priorities in speech, or if she planned to seek election to a term in her own right in 2018.

Treasurer and Lt. Gov.

A native of Camden and graduate of Auburn University, Ivey worked as a teacher and banker, and worked as the Alabama Council on Higher Education (ACHE's) Director of Governmental Affair from 1985 to 1998. She mounted an unsuccessful campaign for State Auditor in 1982 as a Democrat. In 2002, Ivey, now a Republican, narrowly won election as State Treasurer, and served there for two terms.

As treasurer, Ivey oversaw the state's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program, which aimed to allow parents of children to pay for college in advance. Starting in 2000, before Ivey took office,The program could not keep up with escalating college tuition costs was hurt by stock market downturns. During Ivey's second term, in 2008, the program stopped enrollments, and the state eventually settled a class action lawsuit with PACT holders.

Despite the controversy, which Ivey blamed on market conditions, Ivey pursued a gubernatorial run in 2009, but then switched to run for lieutenant governor the following spring. In November, 2010, amid a Republican landslide, Ivey narrowly defeated incumbent Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom, Jr.

The lieutenant governor's powers are limited beyond presiding over the Senate and enforcing procedures. Minority Democrats attacked Ivey in her first term, accusing her of ruling too often in favor of the Republican majority. But Ivey, like most of her predecessors, had little to do in the position but watch senators debate, occasionally calling for order with cries of "lower your rhetoric."

With Ivey governor, the lieutenant governor's powers will descend to Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, until a new one is chosen in the 2018 elections.

Early hopefulness

Ivey's ascension was greeted with optimism from leaders of both parties in the Alabama Legislature Monday. Marsh said he had a "great working relationship" with Ivey, and House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, praised her in a statement.

"As someone who knows her talents and abilities and the values that guide her moral compass, I'm confident she will lead our state well," the statement said.

Democrats were more cautious in their statements but wished Ivey well.

"I look forward to Gov. Ivey’s leadership and working with my colleagues in the Alabama Legislature to address the many pressing issues before us, such as Medicaid expansion, the General Fund Budget, prison overcrowding and redistricting," Senate Minority Leader Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said.

Ivey concluded her inaugural speech saying that it was time to "use this opportunity to make Alabama even better and your government more effective."

The new governor is the second woman to hold the office. Lurleen Wallace won election as governor in 1966, and served until her death in 1968. Ivey's swearing in by Stuart was the first time in Alabama history a woman administered the governor's oath of office to another woman.