Governor Kay Ivey's claim of having the “supreme executive power” to unilaterally fire former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) commissioner Kent Davis last week is the opposite of what Republicans believe, according to Wayne Reynolds, a State Board of Education member and Alabama State president of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Members of the State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) rejected Ivey's request to terminate Davis last week. Ivey then unilaterally fired him after the one-and-a-half-hour SBVA meeting.
The SBVA has 15 members, including Ivey. Various veterans groups recommend all board members, who are then appointed by the Governor. The Vietnam Veterans of America is one of the veterans groups that recommends a member to serve on the SBVA.
“Vietnam Veterans of America and all our delegates support the activities and performance by Admiral Davis. We have found him to be most cooperative in putting veterans' issues above all else. Additionally, I believe personally that he works for the veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs. I do not believe that the governor can interfere with the thousands of veterans and the expression of their desire to keep him because she perceives that she has authority. As a member of the State Board (of Education), I know very well she can not dismiss (State Superintendent of Education) Dr. Eric Mackey, and the State Board (of Education) is elected, and the State Board of Veterans Affairs is appointed. We have terms of office and we control our selections,” Reynolds told 1819 News on Wednesday.
Reynolds said he expected the courts would side with the SBVA over Ivey if the firing heads to litigation.
“If she couldn’t dismiss the State Health Officer because she didn’t have the power, how could she consider doing it to Admiral Davis? It is astounding to me that anyone in America would assume they have ‘supreme’ authority over anything. It is an antithesis to what Republicans believe,” Reynolds said. “I’ve supported the governor as a board member and as a voter but this is beyond reproach. I have a dual role both as an educator and as a veteran. I was a combat veteran before I became a teacher. This is a difficult situation for me to be put in when I sit next to the governor on the State Board of Education, but what is right is right. The members of the Board of Veterans Affairs speak for us. We expect that the Supreme Court of Alabama and the court systems of Alabama will validate the protection of all veterans by sustaining the decisions by the State Board of Veterans Affairs.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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