AUBURN – It was a perfect October morning on Saturday for Governor Kay Ivey’s campaign event in Auburn. The weather was crisp, an ideal temperature not quite reaching “cold,” and autumn leaves fell around the Big Red Barn, which sits picturesquely off of a pond across from the historic Edward L. Lowder Red Barn at the College of Agriculture’s Ag Heritage Park.
A crowd of approximately 100 steadily amassed, enjoying the fitting offering of steaming hot coffee, before the rally began at 9:00. Lee County GOP chair Gerald Knight kicked things off and served as master of ceremonies. He was followed by welcoming remarks from Revenue Commissioner Oline Price, who, in a moving tribute, told the crowd how Ivey had served as a role model and inspiration to her for decades.
Republican nominee for state senate district 13 Randy Price led the crowd in prayer, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The governor’s Lee County coordinator, Tommy Heaton, then introduced Congressman Mike Rogers (AL-3), who in turn gave a warm introduction of Ivey.
In Rogers’ approximately two-minute remarks, he raved about Ivey’s job performance and proven record of conservative, steady leadership.
Rogers emphasized the importance of positive, relevant experience, which, in his view, Ivey has an abundance of.
“If you are going to have to have surgery, you’d kind of like to know the doctor has operated on somebody before and has been in the operating room. I feel the same way about government,” Rogers explained.
.@MikeRogersCamp introducing @kayiveyforgov this morning in Auburn. Rep. Rogers talked about how proud he was of the Governor and her leadership.#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/2xv9UClPSc
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) October 27, 2018
Ivey bounced up to the microphone to a resounding standing ovation, opening her speech by expressing how proud she was of the Republican volunteers in the crowd who were working hard to get good conservatives elected in only ten days’ time.
“Each one of you help make this state great,” Ivey said. “And I am thrilled to be a part of your team.”
Ivey then talked about how fortunate the people of Alabama’s third congressional district are to have Rogers representing them in Washington, D.C.
.@GovernorKayIvey expressed her support for @RepMikeRogersAL’s re-election this morning.#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/ck7sKit6as
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) October 27, 2018
Ivey pivoted from a motivational get-out-the-vote pitch to her closing message, which she rattled off without notes, frequently quoting statistics about the economy, as well as education and workforce development efforts.
Part of Ivey’s closing message: “Promises made, promises kept.” pic.twitter.com/0thgv5KfH9
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) October 27, 2018
Her “promises made, promises kept” theme is backed up by examples, as Ivey told the enthusiastic crowd in Auburn.
Besides having “steadied the ship of state” in the governor’s office, Ivey mentioned that she has “streamlined state government, shut down unnecessary task forces and banned lobbyists from being appointed to boards and commissions.”
She outlined that after “steadying the ship,” Ivey fixed the relationship between the legislature and the executive branch, ensuring the two could work together to get things done for the people of Alabama. The key, in Ivey’s view, was restoring open and honest communication between the branches.
“Then we set out to address the needs to make our state even better,” Ivey added. “In the areas of education, the economy, public safety.”
Ivey, using the analogy of her being the state’s head football coach, then took the crowd through an analysis of the “boxscores.”
First comes education, where the governor’s “Strong Start, Strong Finish” initiative has taken a three-pronged “collaborative approach” to get Alabama on track to leap out of the bottom tier in national rankings. The first aspect of the initiative is pre-k through third grade, otherwise known as early childhood education. The key here is to build year after year on a young child’s education, so that they do not fall behind.
“The goal is that by the time a child is finished the third grade, they are reading at or above grade level,” Ivey explained.
Studies have shown that students who get left behind in this first stage of education most often do not catch up. The next phases, computer science in middle school and high school and then workforce preparedness, need a strong foundation already built for individual students.
Intertwining the topic with education, Ivey began to talk about Alabama’s booming economy.
“Since I’ve been governor for 18 months, we’ve seen some 16,000 new Alabama jobs created, $8 billion in private investment for those jobs and, y’all, together we’ve experienced the lowest unemployment rate in our state’s history,” Ivey said.
After a round of applause, Ivey continued, “Today, for the fifth consecutive month, we have more people working in Alabama than ever before in our history. That is great news! So our people are working and businesses and companies have learned that we are real serious in our state about restoring trust in government and building a thriving economy.”
“I was also proud that I was able to sign the largest middle class tax cut in a decade, to improve our economy,” Ivey added. “And we continue to grow jobs and keep Alabama working.”
Now, harking back to the “Strong Finish” part of her education initiative, Ivey detailed how workforce development is so vital to growing the economy to new heights.
“In Alabama, there are a lot of jobs out there that are paying $80,000 a year, unfilled,” Ivey emphasized, speaking to the need for more qualified and skilled workers now.
She has a plan to address the workforce shortage. Many of these jobs require computer science-related education, which Ivey’s education initiative directly tackles. Additionally, Ivey has rolled out a plan, that is now being executed, to increase the total number of skilled workers in Alabama by 500,000 by the year 2025. As she noted, “advanced training” means “better jobs” for the state, too.
Alabama’s 54th governor then advised that she has focused on getting more state troopers on the highway. By February, Ivey will have increased the number of troopers in the state from approximately 300 to over 400 who are “well trained.” She also oversaw the passage of record budgets this past year and provided a “well-deserved” pay raise for the state’s teachers and state employees.
“We’re making progress – growing jobs, education, increasing public safety on our highways and with our budgets,” Ivey summarized. “And with these good boxscores in these four categories, who would want to disrupt this momentum?”
With all of Ivey’s success in a brief time as governor, she concluded by emphasizing that the best is yet to come.
“We’ve made great strides and improvements, but folks, there’s just more work to be done,” Ivey said. “So, I humbly ask for your support, your prayers and your vote for governor of Alabama on November 6.”
.@kayiveyforgov followed up her Auburn event with another morning rally in Shelby County today. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/jwybnWKfFh
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) October 27, 2018
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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