Kay Ellen Ivey is a politician from the United States who has served as the 54th governor of Alabama since 2017. She took office in 2017. She served as the 38th Alabama Treasurer from the years 2003 until 2011, and as the 30th elected official of Alabama from the years 2011 until 2017,
she was a member of the Republican Party. Upon the departure of her predecessor, Robert J. Bentley, Ivey took over as governor of Alabama, making her the state’s second female governor overall and the first female Republican governor.
Kay Ivey Family And Parents
Ivey was the sole child of Boadman Nettles Ivey (1913–1997) and Barbara Elizabeth (Nettles) Ivey when he was born on October 15, 1944 in Camden, Alabama.
His father had passed away in 1997. (1915–1998). Her father served as a major in the military during World War II, and after the war, he participated in the Farmers Home Administration, a government initiative that assisted the hamlet of Gees Bend.
Ivey spent her childhood in Camden helping out on the farm that belonged to her father. She received her degree from Auburn University, where she was active in the community as a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, rising to the position of president of her first-year pledge class, and spending all four years working for the Student Government Association.
Is Kay Ivey Married?
Kay Ivey has gone through the process of getting married and divorcing twice but she does not have any children. Ben LaRavia was her first husband; the two met while she was attending Auburn University, where they later became engaged.
Ivey got married in 1967 and shortly afterward relocated to California, where he began a career as a high school teacher and remained there for many years.
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Kay Ivey’s First Husband, Ben LaRavia
Kay Ivey, the current governor of Alabama, was formerly wed to Ben LaRavia. They did not begin their relationship until after they had both graduated from college.
Additionally, the couple exchanged vows and became engaged while they were both seniors at Auburn University. In addition, the former pair were married and went to California in the same year (1967), which was also the year that they graduated from high school.
Similarly, Kay moved to Sacramento so that she could begin teaching at Rio Linda Senior High School so that she could be nearer to her ex-spouse.
Unfortunately, after a few years of marriage and not having any children together, Kay and Benny decided to end their marriage and divorced.
As was said previously, Kay Ivey’s first marriage did not continue for a very long time. In addition to that, they did not tolerate the presence of children together. However, after that, they both continued on with their lives, and Kay eventually remarried the man who had previously been her husband.
Unfortuitously, Kay Ivey’s second husband leads a very secretive life and keeps a lot of his activities a secret. Ivey’s second marriage did not result in the birth of any children, as was the case with her first marriage.
In contrast, Ben, Ivey’s ex-husband, wed Touzette LaRavia, a resident of Jonesville, and they have a child together. Following their marriage, Lee and Lauren LaRavia were born into the LaRavia family, becoming the couple’s children.
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Professional Career Of Kay Ivey
Former Governor Fob James appointed her to a cabinet position in 1979. Later, 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 for the Alabama Development Office.
Ivey made an unsuccessful run for State Auditor as a Democrat in 1982. From 1985 to 1998, she led the Alabama Commission on Education’s state affairs and communications team as its director.
Ivey won the 2002 election for state treasurer by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent over Stephen Black, the grandson of former U.S. Supreme Court justice Hugo Black. Ivey began office in 2003.
Ivey was re-elected in 2006 with a 60%-40% margin over his Democratic opponent, Steve Segrest. Since Reconstruction, she was the only Republican to be elected treasurer.
The Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) scheme nearly collapsed under Ivey’s watch as Treasurer. Tens of thousands of Alabama families participated in this scheme because they were promised that money invested in it would cover four years of college costs at any Alabama state university.
Ivey was ineligible for a third term as treasurer in 2010 due to the provisions of the Alabama Constitution. In 2010, her possible run for governor was mentioned in the media.
Ivey joined a competitive field of seven other Republican candidates for governor in the 2010 elections when she declared her bid for the Republican nomination in 2009. Ivey gave up her bid for governor in March 2010 and instead became a candidate for another office.
When seeking the Republican nomination, she faced off against Hank Erwin, a senator from Montevallo, and Gene Ponder, a teacher from Baldwin County. With 56.6% of the vote compared to Erwin’s 31.40% and Ponder’s 12.10% in the primary election held in June of 2010, Ivey was elected.
Republican Jim Folsom Jr. swept statewide offices in the 2010 midterm elections, and Democrat Jim Folsom Jr., the incumbent, was defeated by Republican nominee Kay Ivey. With 764,112 votes to Folsom’s 718,636, Ivey was declared the winner.
Pastor Stan Cooke of Jefferson County contested Ivey in the Republican primary election that took place in 2014.
The Business Council of Alabama, the Alabama Retail Association, the Alabama Farmers Federation, and the Alabama Forestry Association all backed Ivey.
On primary election night, Ivey received 257,588 votes, while Cooke received only 160,023. This gave Ivey a 61.68% victory.
After Robert Bentley resigned as governor on April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in and took office. Only two women have ever served as governor of the state, and she is the second. Lurleen Wallace, George’s wife, won the primary and served as governor for around 16 months before succumbing to cancer.
Ivey signed a bill into law in April 2017 that prevented judges from going against a jury’s death penalty recommendation during sentence for capital murder. Until recently, only Alabama’s “judicial override” enabled judges to impose the death penalty even when juries had recommended a
life sentence without the possibility of release. The capital punishment plan in Alabama was expected to be declared illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court before the measure was passed.
