Gov. Ivey addressed a crowd of supporters from the front steps of the Cullman County Courthouse Friday evening. (W.C. Mann for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN – On her way to Huntsville Friday evening, Gov. Kay Ivey stopped off in Cullman to address a crowd of supporters on the front steps of the Cullman County Courthouse. She told the crowd, “Things are going really well, and I’m just thankful to be with you tonight and share with you some information that I think you’ll find is sort of good news.”
Ivey recalled the day she took office after the resignation of Robert Bentley:
“Immediately after taking the oath, I spoke to my fellow Alabamians directly. And I promised: first, we would have an open, honest, transparent administration; we would work to make our state even better, and we would work ever so hard to make our government more effective, and fourthly, we would bring back our conservative values: protect the unborn, defend life, protect the Second Amendment and defend our guns. Promises made, folks, and promises kept! We have delivered on those promises.”
She went on to outline some of the accomplishments of her administration, including:
- streamlining state government
- shutting down unnecessary task forces
- returning the membership of boards and commissions to citizens outside the state house
- replacing half the governor’s cabinet with “people of high integrity”
- improving communication between the governor’s office and the legislature
- creating the “Strong Start, Strong Finish” education initiative to improve pre-K through third-grade programs, computer science programs and advanced skills programs for a trained workforce
- record numbers of Alabamians working for the fifth month in a row
- increasing the number of Alabama State Troopers on the state’s highways from 313 to more than 400 by February 2019
- adopting the largest education budget in state history
- giving all state employees a raise
Ivey touted her experience over that of her opponent, noting that only one of them has already served as governor and afterwards told The Tribune that she has the advantage of “the experience of having the on-the-job success that we have, because when I started, our state was in dark, dark distress, not productive at all. People were in turmoil and darkness, and morale was low. So we’ve done a good job, I think, working with our people to improve jobs, improve education, improve public safety on the highways. We’re making progress, and people like results.”
A brief but definitive response to recent health claims
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox recently called on Ivey to answer questions about a 2015 health scare, in which she was admitted briefly to a Colorado hospital. Maddox and former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier claimed that the reassignment of a State Trooper after the incident was part of an effort to cover up the seriousness of symptoms some have likened to a mild stroke.
According to Ivey’s team, the condition was minor, and physicians at the hospital determined that she was simply suffering from altitude sickness in Colorado’s “mile-high” geography.
After noting the recent controversy, The Tribune asked Ivey how she’s feeling now.
She smiled, “I am fine! Fine and revved up!”
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