EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with Lt. Gov. Ivey, who just announced her re-election bid

Lt. Governor Kay Ivey announced this week that she will be seeking a second term. In 2010, Ivey became Alabama’s first Republican woman Lt. Governor. Yellowhammer caught up with Lt. Gov. Ivey on Thursday to talk about her first three years in office, and to look forward to what she hopes to accomplish in a second term.

Yellowhammer:
1. You’ve presided over three sessions of the Alabama Senate during a time when some historic legislation has been passed. What have been some of the most remarkable moments you’ve been a part of since being elected in 2010?

Lt. Gov. Ivey:
The last three sessions have been truly historic. Bills like tenure reform, school choice for parents and pro-life legislation have passed that would have never even gotten out of committee before. But there are three bills in particular that come to mind that were really remarkable.

You may recall during my inauguration I challenged the legislature to prevent proration. The rolling reserve bill turned out to be one of the first bills that passed. As a result, we have had four consecutive years without proration in the education budget.

Another bill will long-lasting results was reapportionment. I got to appoint 11 senators to the reapportionment committee — half the committee’s membership. Not every Lt. Governor gets to do that because it lasts for ten years. They drew new districts that will serve this state well. That is significant and will produce positive results going forward.

The third bill that comes to mind is significant because it reflects the character and commitment of the legislature. They promised to pay back the Alabama Trust Fund for the temporary transfer that was made. With the people having voted for it overwhelmingly, the governor and legislature promised to pay it back. They passed the People’s Trust Bill and delivered on that promise. It was about trust, and in my judgement that characterizes this group of legislators and this governor.

Yellowhammer:
When you were elected in 2010, you became the first Republican woman to serve as Lt. Governor. Would you like to see more conservative women run for public office?

Lt. Gov. Ivey
Sure I would. But the most important thing is not gender, it’s about honor and character and committment. Those are the characteristics the people of Alabama want as elected officials.

I value competent women, and we have a lot of them across this state, like Martha Roby and Terri Sewell in Congress.

I’ve had a passion for Alabama Girl’s State for over 50 years. It trained me and inspired me to serve. There are other similar initiatives as well. We have amazing women business owners and CEOs in this great state. I encourage competent people to run regardless of gender, but you can’t win if you don’t enter the race.

Yellowhammer:
What do you hope to see accomplished if you’re elected to a second term?

Lt. Gov. Ivey:
I just met with the Military Stability Commission. It is a group designed to do all we can to have everyone participating in a statewide message for the Dept. of Defense to prevent any loss of personell or transfer of resources out of Alabama. The Commission will work to pass more bills to improve the climate in our state — not only for the military — but for civilians as well who are coming into ALabama to work for newly located industries. Preparing to defend the military mission in Alabama is a huge priority and I’ll encourage the legislature to adopt these bills.

Secondly, I have a passion for education and believe we should have high standards from kindergarten through PHD. I’m a former teacher. I’m a strong supporter of the STEM program. For example, I brought to Alabama the rel-world design challenge program. High school students were able to learn how to use science, technology, engineering and math. That is important to me. We need to focus education to support students, not just schools.

I also recently met with Sen. Marsh to discuss our continued efforts to reduce the size and cost of state government. We need to keep bringing business investment into Alabama from both new and existing firms.

The Governor and others recently returned from the Paris Air Show and Alabama is the envy of a lot of people — not just other states, but other countries across the world.

Alabama is where to go to have your people working in the 21st century. Alabama is on the move!

What else is going on?
1. Brooks, Roby and Rogers vow to fight ‘Gang of 8’ bill in the House
2. Rogers: ‘Our constitutional rights have been taking a beating’
Immigration bill passes, Senate gallery chants “YES WE CAN!”
3. Sims: DOMA decision is a ‘loss for big government’
4. Shelby says immigration bill is “mother of all amnesties”
5. Rep. McClendon appears on MSNBC discussing SCOTUS ruling on Voting Rights Act