• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

A New Alabama Governor is Restoring the State’s Image

by Erin Green - June 9, 2017

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin
New Alabama Governor
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey – link

Ever since Robert Bentley left office after he was caught in the midst of a sex scandal with his assistant, Kay Ivey has taken the role of the Governor of Alabama and she has been doing some fairly interesting things for the state. It’s not certain if it’s just because the media wants to cover everything that she’s doing because she is the new governor or if it’s really just because she is actually doing things to change Alabama, unlike Robert Bentley.

If you somehow have not been informed of Alabama politics, Robert Bentley was allegedly involved in an affair with his senior political advisor, Rebekah Mason, there are text messages and audio recordings that display the relationship between Bentley and Mason. Someone filed an ethics complaint and some other legislators called for Bentley to resign and on April 10, the same day that there was an impeachment hearing. Bentley eventually did resign.

New Alabama Governor
Robert Bentley – link

Ivey was the lieutenant governor and took over after Bentley left and one of the first things that she did that a lot of people gave her praise for was moving the date of the Senate election. Back when Bentley was governor, Jeff Sessions left to become the Attorney General in the Trump’s administration, leaving one Senate seat vacant. Bentley did not decide to have a special election but instead let the former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange fill the seat until the general election in 2018.

Fun fact, Luther Strange was also involved in the ethics violation committee investigating Robert Bentley.

Ivey decided to move the election in August 2017, calling it a special election. A lot of people said that Bentley broke the law by not having a special election. According to the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus the State law, Code of Alabama 36-9-8 says that if the Senate seat becomes vacant, “the governor shall forthwith order an election.”

The Black Caucus said this means that the election should be held immediately, while Bentley’s legal team said that this means that the governor just needs to order an election “forthwith” not be held “forthwith.” Either way, Ivey has moved the election closer and a lot of people are happy about that.

Since taking office, Governor Ivey has been revealed as a fairly moderate Republican and seems to have Alabama genuinely in her heart.

For example, Ivey signed a law that would potentially allow gay couples to be denied from adopting in Alabama, seemingly very conservative. But the House Bill 24 would stop state officials from denying faith-based adoption groups to deny adoptions to same-sex couples. A lot of people had found this rather regressive.

Ivey also signed a bill that stops judges from overriding juries in death penalty cases, likely preventing more executions. She signed another law that protects Confederate monuments, a popular idea in much of Alabama, which has sparked some controversy.

So all in all, she seems to be doing a good job so far of balancing moderate conservatism in a very conservative state. She isn’t a declared gubernatorial candidate for 2018, but I’m interested in seeing how the public responds to her policies and whether she decides to run for another term.

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: American State Elections, LGBT People and Democracy

About Erin Green

Erin writes for Democracy Chronicles from Maryland, where he is a doctoral student in English literature. He enjoys writing about abolitionist movements, cultural politics, poverty, and political rhetorics.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | A New Alabama Governor is Restoring the State’s Image

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

The Christian Evangelical Church

By Jack Jones January 22, 2023

I am not against Big Business having a voice, just not all the voices, and especially not an impersonator pretending to speak for God.

No One In Monterey County Is Good Enough To Serve In Legislature

By Joe Mathews January 9, 2023

California’s “democratic reforms” have left a place as… [key] as Monterey County without any state representation from one of its own.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

In America, the Joe-mocracy Rules

By Joe Mathews December 27, 2022

A republic? A democracy? No, our country is an avuncular autocracy run by old guys named joe.

Property Rights, Indiana-Style

By Andrew Straw December 24, 2022

Indiana’s justices have replaced constitutional property rights with ad hominem politics. Replacing them starts with better governors.

To The American Oligarchs: Lay Off Us

By Jack Jones December 21, 2022

No matter how many jobs are ruthlessly pulled out from under us, we are still going to do what it takes to put food on the table.

Indiana’s Irrational Ballot Access System

By Andrew Straw December 4, 2022

Opposing the potential 2024 retention of the Chief Justice Loretta Rush will be key to preventing disability discrimination bad blood in Indiana courts.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden’s Loan Forgiveness program

By Jack Jones November 24, 2022

What is unlawful is the Texas federal judge’s decision to strike down President Biden’s loan forgiveness program, not the program itself.

DeSantis Battles Trump in Florida Steel Cage Match

By Steve Schneider November 20, 2022

We take you now to the much-anticipated DeSantis-Trump steel cage match, in which “DeSanctimonious” has promised to “kick Trump’s ass.”

Why Gambling Can’t Really Lose In California

By Joe Mathews November 2, 2022

When state voters approved an expansion of casino gaming, gaming interests assured us that gambling here would be governed by strict limits.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

Girl Scouts Earn Democracy Badge At Workshop In Salina

Girl Scouts Earn Democracy Badge At Workshop In Salina

January 26, 2023

The workshop assisted Girl Scouts in grades K–10 in earning their Democracy Badge through learning activities on democracy.

Study: Media Can Reduce Polarization By Telling Personal Stories

Study: Media Can Reduce Polarization By Telling Personal Stories

January 26, 2023

Sharing personal experiences and pairing them with facts reduces political dehumanization and increases political tolerance.

Study: 2020 Election Resulted In Increased Anxiety And Depression

Study: 2020 Election Resulted In Increased Anxiety And Depression

January 7, 2023

A review of 2020 Household Pulse Survey data reveals that as an election nears, people in [America] report more depression and anxiety.

Key Iran Labor Sectors Launch Major Strikes

Charlie Hebdo Caricatures Iran’s Mullahs

January 7, 2023

The satirical weekly is publishing a special issue on Wednesday, January 4, mocking Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in support of the protests…

First Impressions Are Strongly Influenced By Political Partisanship

First Impressions Are Strongly Influenced By Political Partisanship

December 22, 2022

How we perceive strangers or the impressions we have about them, particularly their faces, is influenced by political partisanship.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy