Latest news with #StateBoardofVeteransAffairs
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Alabama VA commissioner sues Gov. Kay Ivey over termination
Kent Davis, former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (right), speaks with reporters during a news conference alongside his attorney, Kenneth J. Mendelsohn, regarding a lawsuit he filed against Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, for wrongful termination. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector) Former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis filed a civil lawsuit against Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday, alleging his firing in October violated his free speech and due process rights. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, also accused Ivey of wrongful termination, defamation and intentional interference with business relations because he has been unable to find other employment since getting terminated. 'I think anybody who reads through that complaint will see a pattern and practice of behavior there that I think we will go more into as we get into the facts of this case,' Davis said. 'Hopefully we will get to discovery, and there is going to be more that comes out in this case.' Ivey's office said in a statement Wednesday that they were 'extremely confident that Governor Ivey's necessary actions will stand any court test there may be.' The lawsuit is the latest clash that dates back to September, when Ivey accused Davis of mishandling grant funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and filing what she characterized as a frivolous ethics complaint with the Alabama Ethics Commission that was later dismissed. Davis initially agreed to leave the position at the end of 2024, but later that month the State Board of Veterans Affairs asked him to withdraw that resignation, saying it found no evidence of wrongdoing. Ivey then moved to fire Davis, accusing him of manipulating the board. Davis and his attorneys argue that Ivey lacked the legal authority to fire Davis. 'The law was pretty clear that he was hired by the State Board of Veterans Affairs and could only be terminated by the State Board of Veterans Affairs, and only for cause,' said Kenneth Mendelsohn, an attorney representing Davis, on Wednesday. 'Initially, she tried to fire him without even going to the board, which certainly violated due process rights he had. And then she called a special meeting later to try and get the board to fire him, and they voted not to.' Ivey signed a bill in March removing most of the board's powers and reducing it to an advisory role within the governor's office. The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs received $5 million from ARPA in June 2023 and an additional $2 million from the Alabama Department of Finance. The governor's office last year accused Davis of not presenting grant applications for mental health applications funded through ARPA until January, just months before a June 1 deadline. Ivey said that raised questions from other department heads about compliance and proper fund use. The Alabama Department of Mental Health terminated a contract with Veterans' Affairs in part due to these concerns. The Alabama Department of Finance later contacted Veterans Affairs with concerns about the grants, some of which the department said had little to no connection with veterans' mental health. Davis' lawsuit argues that Ivey's accusation that Davis mishandled ARPA funds 'was false and Ivey knew or at least should have known it was false.' 'In fact, all funds were preserved and returned to the Department of Finance and, as a result of Davis's efforts, the grant program was successful without using any grant funds,' the lawsuit said. According to the lawsuit, Davis decided to return the $7 million the agency received from ARPA to the Alabama Department of Finance. However, Davis wanted to continue with the grant program to allow organizations who were due to receive funding to continue to serve the mental health needs of veterans, according to the lawsuit. 'Simultaneous to Davis's efforts to salvage the grant process for veterans' mental health programs, the Alabama Department of Finance was investigating and responding to Commissioner Boswell's allegations regarding the ARPA funds,' the lawsuit states. According to the lawsuit, Davis filed an ethics complaint against Boswell last July, alleging that members of the State Board of Veterans Affairs had brought concerns about the ARPA grant program and other veterans issues. The Ethics Commission dismissed the ethics complaint in August. Ivey called the complaint frivolous. Davis is seeking monetary relief stemming from his termination and for retirement benefits he is due. 'When I look back, every step that I and my colleagues in the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs do was by the book, in accordance with the law,' Davis said on Wednesday. 'And sometimes we were obligated by the law to take those steps. There is the old adage, 'No good deed goes unpunished.' Is that the point we have in this country, you follow the law, you do what you are obligated to do under the law, and you are punished as a result of it, you are retaliated against as a result of it? Maybe that is the point where we are in this country.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate votes to give Gov. Ivey more control of Veterans Affairs
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama Senate voted Tuesday to give the governor the power to appoint the head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, a move that comes after a public feud between Gov. Kay Ivey and the former commissioner. Senators voted 21-9 for the bill that would make the position a gubernatorial appointee. Under current law, the State Board of Veterans Affairs hires the commissioner. The bill now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. Alabama Senate passes bill exempting nursing mothers from jury duty 'We want to elevate the commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs to a cabinet-level position, someone who is fully in state government, an agency that's fully in state government,' Republican Sen. Andrew Jones, the bill's sponsor, said. An original version of the bill also would have changed the State Board of Veterans Affairs. The vote comes months after a public dispute between Ivey's office and then-Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis. The governor had accused Davis of failing to cooperate with her office and other agency heads and of mishandling an American Rescue Plan grant program. Davis' supporters said no funds were mishandled. Ivey asked the board to fire Davis. After they refused, Ivey said she used her power as chief executive to dismiss him anyway. Some senators who voted against the bill said they wanted additional time to review the new version. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Alabama Senate votes to give Gov. Ivey more control of Veterans Affairs
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Senate voted Tuesday to give the governor the power to appoint the head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, a move that comes after a public feud between Gov. Kay Ivey and the former commissioner. Senators voted 21-9 for the bill that would make the position a gubernatorial appointee. Under current law, the State Board of Veterans Affairs hires the commissioner. The bill now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. 'We want to elevate the commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs to a cabinet-level position, someone who is fully in state government, an agency that's fully in state government,' Republican Sen. Andrew Jones, the bill's sponsor, said. An original version of the bill also would have changed the State Board of Veterans Affairs. The vote comes months after a public dispute between Ivey's office and then-Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis. The governor had accused Davis of failing to cooperate with her office and other agency heads and of mishandling an American Rescue Plan grant program. Davis' supporters said no funds were mishandled. Ivey asked the board to fire Davis. After they refused, Ivey said she used her power as chief executive to dismiss him anyway. Some senators who voted against the bill said they wanted additional time to review the new version.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed legislation aims to totally revamp the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs
Mobile, Ala. (WKRG) — After a shakeup last year that saw the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs unceremoniously fired from his post by Gov. Kay Ivey, legislation has been introduced to revamp the department. 'We're glad they're back, but it's very sad why it's back': Gulf Shores moving forward with return of NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship If passed, Senate Bill 67 and a companion bill in the House would allow the governor to appoint the commissioner of ADVA. Since the department was established in 1945, the State Board of Veterans Affairs was in charge of hiring and firing the commissioner. The proposed legislation would also relegate the State Board of Veterans Affairs to an advisory capacity. A hearing before the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee was scheduled at the State House today (Wednesday, Feb. 5) and the bill was approved by a 5 to 2 vote with one abstention. Veterans in the Mobile area familiar with the debacle that saw former Commissioner Admiral Kent Davis lose his job are also crying foul over the legislation to revamp the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. Pensacola woman sentenced for causing 2022 deadly crash in Santa Rosa County, officials say Davis was popular with many veterans in the state. He is credited with overseeing several improvements during his five years as commissioner. These are some of them: Overseeing the opening of a new State Veterans Home in Enterprise and reducing the backlog of veterans on a waiting list, the longest waiting list of any state in the country Reopening a dozen Veterans Services Offices that had been shuttered during the decade before Davis took office Securing a grant to expand the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort. Davis called the legislation retaliation for the dust-up he had with Ivey last year, which began when Davis filed an ethics complaint against a member of the governor's cabinet. Davis further said the proposed legislation was written by the governor's staff, which the bill's sponsor, Sen. Andrew Jones (R) of Centre, seemingly admitted to on the public affairs program ''Capitol Journal' on Dec. 20, 2024. Jones said, 'I got an update from some of the Governor's staff just yesterday that they are continuing to work through the process of developing the legislation and it's my understanding that it would go through both of our respective committees. 'You know, I see this as really a way to elevate the Department of Veterans Affairs, bring them fully in the fold of state government, and highlight the work that's being done for veterans, and make that person a member of the Governor's team and the Governor's cabinet.' Davis told that he plans to file a lawsuit over the governor's alleged 'supreme executive power over his firing and the Alabama Ethics Act anti-retaliation provisions. MPD officer resigns months after being placed on administrative leave Davis said, 'I obviously disagree with the governor's actions. I think over 5 years we'd accomplished a lot, and frankly, a lot of that has been stymied by the governor's actions.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
