MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, in her first State of the State address since scandal catapulted her into the governor’s office, told legislators Tuesday that the state has turned the page after a cloud of controversy enveloped Alabama government for much of the past two years.
Ivey, who took the governor’s office in April after the sudden resignation of then-Gov. Robert Bentley, addressed lawmakers on the opening day of the 2018 legislative session.
“Tomorrow marks nine full months since I unexpectedly became governor. A lot has happened since then. We have lifted the dark cloud, wounds have started healing, and the people’s faith in a government ‘for and by the people’ is being restored,” she said.
Ivey, who had been lieutenant governor, succeeded Bentley when he stepped down amid an impeachment investigation in the wake of an alleged affair with a staffer.
Amid rosier budget projection, Ivey’s speech focused on the state’s economic recovery and laid out a legislative agenda that included pay raises for teachers and state employees, increased funding for state prisons to avert a federal takeover of the state system, and developing rural broadband.