US politician Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) has been Alabama’s 54th governor since 2017. Although Ivey was raised a strong Southern Democrat, she switched to the Republican Party in 2002. Between the years 2003 and 2011, she served as Alabama’s 38th state treasurer, and between 2011 and 2017, she served as the state’s 30th lieutenant governor.
After Robert J. Bentley resigned, Ivey took over as governor of Alabama, making her the state’s second female governor and the first female Republican governor. In the gubernatorial election of 2018, she handily defeated Walt Maddox to secure a second full term. Ivey, at 78 years old, is the United States’ oldest serving governor.
Kay Ivey Early Life and Family
As a former student of Auburn University, Kay Ivey has that accomplishment under her belt. Back when she was a freshman in college, she held the position of president of her pledge group. In 2021, Ivey was presented with an honorary Doctor of Letters from Jacksonville State University.
The only child of Boardman Nettles Ivey (1913-1997) and Barbara Elizabeth (Nettles) Ivey, Kay was born on October 15, 1944, in Camden, Alabama (1915-1998). Her father was a major in the military during World War II and later served the community of Gees Bend through the Farmer’s Home Administration.
Ivey spent her childhood in Camden helping out on the farm her father owned. She was president of her pledge class as a freshman at Auburn University and went on to graduate with a degree while in the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She spent her entire time as a student leader in the SGA.
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Work History and Accomplishments of Kay Ivey
She began working in the cabinet of the state of Florida under Governor Fob James in 1979. After that, from 1980 to 1982, she worked as the reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives, and from 1982 to 1985, she was the assistant director of the Alabama Development Office.
Ivey made a failed bid for the office of State Auditor on the Democratic ticket in 1982. Between the years 1985 and 1998, she served as the Alabama Commission on Education’s Director of State Affairs and Communications.
Assistant to the State Treasurer (2003–2011)
Treasurer Ivey entered office in 2003 after defeating Stephen Black, the grandson of former US Supreme Court justice Hugo Black, in the 2002 election by a margin of 52-48%. Ivey was re-elected in 2006 with a 60-40% majority against his Democratic opponent, Steve Segrest. Since Reconstruction, she is the only Republican to have been elected treasurer.
Ivey also nearly completely ruined the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program’s finances when she was in charge of the department. The state of Alabama promised tens of thousands of families that their participation in the program would secure four years of in-state college tuition at any Alabama university.
As tuition at several Alabama universities climbed by a factor of three or more after the program’s launch, the state legislature was eventually forced to intervene and save the program from financial collapse. This massive increase in tuition was not anticipated at the outset of the planning process.
State of Alabama Governor (2017–Present)
In capital murder cases, Ivey signed into law in April 2017 a bill that prevents judges from going against the verdict of a jury and imposing a different sentence, such as death. A “judicial override” permitted a judge to impose a death sentence even if a jury had recommended a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Until recently, this practice was only legal in Alabama.
Even before the bill was signed into law, it was widely anticipated that the United States Supreme Court would rule Alabama’s capital sentence mechanism unconstitutional. Upon Robert Bentley’s resignation on April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as governor. In the history of the state, she is only the second woman to serve as governor. wife of George Wallace who served as governor for around 16 months between 1967 and 1968 before passing away from cancer.
In capital murder cases, Ivey signed into law in April 2017 a bill that prevents judges from going against the verdict of a jury and imposing a different sentence, such as death. A “judicial override” permitted a judge to impose a death sentence even if a jury had recommended a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Until recently, this practice was only legal in Alabama. Even before the bill was signed into law, it was widely anticipated that the United States Supreme Court would rule Alabama’s capital sentence mechanism unconstitutional.
Kay Ivey’s Age, Height, and Weight
By 2022, Kay Ivey will have reached the ripe old age of 78. She is 5 feet, 6 inches tall.
Roughly 60 kilograms is how much she tips the scales at. Both her eyes and hair are a greyish shade of hazel.
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The Estimated Wealth of Kay Ivey
If you had to guess, what would your best guess be for Kay Ivey’s net worth? An estimate places Kay Ivey’s wealth at roughly $100,000.