On Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey announced former Rep. Jo Bonner was replacing long-time confidante Steve Pelham as her chief of staff, a move that had been rumored but made official the day after being sworn-in for a full-term at her inauguration ceremony.
Shortly after Ivey was sworn in on Monday, Bonner discussed Ivey’s inauguration and what the public should expect from the governor as her new term begins in an interview with Huntsville radio’s WVNN.
Both Bonner and Ivey hail from Wilcox County’s Camden, which was a topic that Bonner discussed as well.
“This is a special day,” Bonner said on Monday’s broadcast of “The Jeff Poor Show.” “Any time you’ve got an inauguration, it’s special. It’s a new chapter, a new beginning. But in this case, it is extra special because this is a young lady who was born in Wilcox County, where Attorney General and former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions is from – where so many wonderful people have come from, Camden and Wilcox County.”
“It’s a small county,” he said. “It’s one of the poorest counties per capita in the nation in terms of income. It’s one of the wealthiest counties in the world in terms of the quality of people. It’s not just people who have done like Gov. Ivey and have served in public life, but people who have made a difference in education, health care, people who have won prizes – national awards, recognition, people who have gone on to the military academies and have had successful careers in business.”
“Camden is a small town,” Bonner added. “Wilcox County is a place if they have ever heard of it – it’s because they like to hunt or fish.”
Bonner later offered details of an Ivey cabinet meeting that occurred after her November election victory over Democratic opponent Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox. According to the former U.S. congressman, Ivey laid out a “clear challenge” for her upcoming four-year term.
“She said, ‘We have all too often kicked the problems down the road, and it’s time to address some of these challenges, see them as opportunities, and we’re going to make the most of the next four years. We’re going to do things for the right reason,’” Bonner recounted. “She challenged them to lace their shoes up, and she said mine were going to be laced, and we’re going to get running, and we’re going to get a fast start.”
Bonner said it should not go unnoticed that the governor unused her inauguration as a platform to push the legislature for action on infrastructure and improving the state’s prison system, which is under the threat of a federal takeover.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV and host of “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN in Huntsville.
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