Multiple State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) members in recent weeks tried to call a special board meeting to likely ask outgoing Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) commissioner Kent Davis to rescind his resignation.
Davis resigned on September 9, effective December 31.
Ivey originally asked for Davis' resignation effective September 30 and removed John Kilpatrick from the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs. In the resignation request, Ivey said the agency mishandled an ARPA grant program.
Davis had previously declined to resign and said, "I respectfully disagree with the inaccurate claims made against the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs."
Davis filed an ethics complaint at the request of board members against Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) commissioner Kim Boswell in August for allegedly preventing ADVA from obtaining $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The Alabama Ethics Commission later dismissed the complaint. Davis, who retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral, has served as ADVA commissioner since 2019.
Multiple Alabama veterans organizations opposed Davis' removal.
Bryan Battaglia, a retired U.S. Marine whose term on the SBVA expired on Monday, said there was a recent effort by some board members to call a special meeting regarding Davis's resignation.
"I totally support the notion with holding leaders accountable and getting a pound of flesh for failed leadership and/or illegal play. But I believe at this point, Governor Ivey is getting the wrong pound from the wrong flesh!" Battaglia told 1819 News in a statement on Wednesday. "Indeed, there was an effort and what I supported was an immediate special board meeting to hear Commissioner Davis' testimony that surrounded his sudden resignation. Sadly, that special board meeting never took place."
He continued, "Following the governor's issued letter, she called a special board meeting for Tuesday Sept. 10th. In that letter was listed the purpose of the meeting which was to consider the removal of the State Service Commissioner and appointment of an interim Commissioner. That would have been the exact venue for the State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) membership to hear out Commissioner Davis. That meeting was quickly cancelled by the governor and never took place!"
"It takes 5 board members to call a special board meeting. I initiated an effort as allowed within the rules, to attain 5 board members to call a special meeting. This meeting was asked to be held before 30 September so it would include a full body board. During the latter of September, we acquired the 5 members. The Vice Chair was informed that there were 5. Suddenly, one of the members checked his name off the list bringing it to 4 meaning that the special meeting no longer qualified. Then again on Friday 27 September, (the last day to call a special meeting as it requires 48-hour notice), I acquired another board member again regaining the 5-member minimum. The vice chairman of the board had knowledge that a special meeting requirement was met. Within a couple of hours, I reached out to ADVA staff to inquire as to a status update," Battaglia added. "I was then informed that it was no longer 5, it was now 4 as a second board member suddenly checked their name off the list. Essentially, no special board meeting took place! Something was obviously interfering with this process. I have reason to believe that the Vice Chair of the SBVA, Scott Gedling was having phone conversations with board members discouraging them from having this special meeting which in my opinion is completely unethical. I had been one of the board members that he notified, but told him I am not backing down from asking for a special board meeting."
SBVA vice chairman Scott Gedling told 1819 News one of the members said they were having a medical procedure on the day that a special-called meeting might've happened.
"I would never try to talk a board member out of anything so just put it that way. I never ask them how they're going to vote and I certainly respect their right to do however they want to do," Gedling said. "I never tell a member how to vote and I never try to talk them out of doing something. I might ask them why they're doing something sometimes to make sure they know all the facts that I can present to them. I was not trying to talk them out of having a special board meeting. If they want to have one, have one."
State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), co-chairman of the ARPA Oversight Committee, recently said "there was never any misappropriation" of ARPA funds by Davis or ADVA.
Battaglia said, "Bottom line, the State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) has incomplete and insufficient evidence that Commissioner Davis is guilty of mishandling ARPA funds and warrants as severe a reprimand as a resignation."
"The SBVA have been given no investigation results from these allegations or even an opportunity to hear Commissioner Davis' side of the incident in order to bring better fidelity and understanding as to why his resignation was called for in the first place. All we SBVA board members currently possess is a letter from the governor to commissioner Davis containing allegations of foul play, a news release about leakage of an ethics complaint on the ADMH, a phone call from the governor's office staff directing a special meeting, coupled with the statement, 'So the Governor can count on you and your vote to remove Davis from office, right?' (or words to that effect)," he added. "As aforementioned, the SBVA has yet to hear Commissioner Davis' side. I believe it's at that juncture, a more holistic determination can be made via a board vote. I will add, that I find it interesting an official statement by Sen. Albritton which says "Misappropriation did not occur. There wasn't anything illegal or even improper," referring to Commissioners Davis' dealing with ARPA funds. Albritton serves as co-chairman of the ARPA Oversight Committee and that has to carry significant weight in considering the allegations against the Commissioner. So, at this point, the SBVA has yet to meet to discuss the commissioner's resignation as originally directed in Governor Ivey's letter. In other words, he submitted his resignation, but the SBVA has yet to accept it or refuse it. Absent some kind of smoking gun thrown on the table against the Commissioner, there lies inaccuracies. At this point, I would likely be asking him to rescind his resignation and complete his 4-year term as the board hired him to do."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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