MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday defended her decision to fire the state veterans commissioner as what she called a last resort after the state board refused her request to do so.
Ivey spoke briefly with reporters after a speech to a Montgomery civic club. She was asked about her decision to dismiss Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner W. Kent Davis. Ivey also said she has no plans to replace the chairwoman of the parole board, who has come under criticism from state lawmakers in an unrelated dispute.
Ivey said last week that she was using her authority as governor to remove Davis. The move came after the State Board of Veterans Affairs, in a 3-2 vote, rejected Ivey’s request to remove Davis.
Davis had already agreed to vacate the post at the end of the year. Ivey ’s office and Davis had been in a dispute over a federal grant program and a related ethics complaint that Davis filed against the head of another state agency.
“I had spelled out in great detail to the board in writing, I think it was seven or eight different charges. And they couldn’t do what I had to do. So, he needed to go,” Ivey told reporters.
Davis’ lawyer has questioned whether the governor has the authority to fire Davis since he is appointed by the board and not the governor. He said last week that they are considering filing a lawsuit.
Separately, the governor also says she has no plans to replace Leigh Gwathney, the chairwoman of the three-person Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Gwathney last week appeared before the Legislative Prison Committee in a sometimes tense meeting to take lawmakers’ questions about the parole process. Lawmakers said Gwathney had not provided information they had requested in January.
Ivey appointed Gwathney to the position in 2019. Her term ends next year.
“I hadn’t been focused on replacing her at all,” Ivey said when asked if she intended to reappoint Gwathney. The governor appoints the chair of the board after recommendations are submitted by the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and Alabama House speaker and Alabama Senate president pro tempore.
Ivey was also asked if she was satisfied with the job that Gwathney is doing.
“I’m not sure I know all the answers to your questions about that,” Ivey said. “But as far as I know we’re going to have a strong parole board.”
Alabama’s parole rate has plummeted over recent years. The percentage of inmates being granted parole after their hearing fell from 53% in 2018 to a historic low of 8% last year. The rate rose back to about 20% this year.