Alabama
Opinion | Kay Ivey set a governing standard Alabama now measures against
History has rarely been kind to Alabama’s governors. Few are remembered for long, and fewer still for having led the state well. Governor Kay Ivey is likely to be judged differently—not because she reshaped Alabama politics, but because she set a governing standard that has too often been absent.
Measured against her peers—in this state and across the region—Ivey has led Alabama better than most. Not louder. Not flashier. Better.
In an era of noisy, self-indulgent governance, she has been better than her peers simply because she treated the job as work, not performance.
She inherited a state that has often confused ideological signaling with leadership and volume with results. What she offered instead was competence, continuity and a seriousness about governing that has grown increasingly rare. Ivey did not promise transformation. She delivered stability. She did not seek national attention. She focused on Alabama. And while her approach rarely produced dramatic moments, it produced something far more valuable: a state that was consistently managed, economically competitive and largely spared the self-inflicted chaos that has plagued executive offices elsewhere.
For most Alabamians, that did not feel dramatic. It felt like schools opening on time, paychecks arriving as expected, roads getting paved and crises handled without panic. Good governance rarely announces itself—it simply spares people from unnecessary disruption.
She will not be remembered for fiery speeches or grand crusades. She will not be remembered for cable-news dominance or viral moments. She will be remembered for keeping Alabama on steady footing at a time when steadiness itself became a scarce commodity.
That steadiness was not accidental. It reflected judgment, discipline and an understanding that governing is not about theatrics, but about responsibility.
Fault can be found with any leader. Kay Ivey is no exception. There were moments of caution, moments when political realities shaped policy choices, and moments when the gravitational pull of her party’s most aggressive elements was difficult to escape. But what distinguishes her tenure—and what sets it apart from many of her contemporaries—is that she consistently chose outcomes over outrage, policy over performance, and long-term stability over short-term applause.
She governed with policy, not performance.
For decades, Alabama—like much of the South—has talked about the idea of a “New South” governor. At its core, that idea has always meant the same thing: a leader focused on economic growth over grievance, management over messaging, and results over rhetoric. Other Southern states have elected versions of that leader. Alabama, notably, has not.
Instead, the state has often oscillated—sometimes choosing cultural familiarity over competence, sometimes rewarding ideological signaling over executive ability and sometimes settling for leaders who spoke loudly but governed thinly. That pattern did not belong exclusively to one party or one era. It has been a feature of Alabama politics for generations.
Ivey did not become Alabama’s first New South governor. But she governed closer to that standard than most of her predecessors. She practiced conservatism not as spectacle, but as stewardship—a quieter, more functional form that treated governing as an executive responsibility rather than a cultural performance.
As she enters her final year in office, Alabama stands at an inflection point. We know what Alabamians want because they have told us—clearly, repeatedly and across survey after survey that cuts through party labels and campaign rhetoric.
They want a governor focused on affordability and economic stability. They want attention paid to the cost of living, to whether wages keep pace with prices, to whether growth reaches working families instead of stopping at press releases and ribbon cuttings. They want competence in managing the basics—infrastructure, education, health care access, workforce development—and seriousness about the long-term health of the state.
They are not asking for ideological theatrics. They are not asking for endless conflict. And they are not asking for leadership consumed by national attention rather than Alabama outcomes.
In poll after poll, voters prioritize practical concerns over performative ones. They value results over rhetoric, steadiness over spectacle, and leadership that improves daily life rather than dominating the news cycle.
That is not nostalgia. That is data.
The appeal of competence is not ideological. It is rooted in lived experience, especially among people who cannot afford the consequences of instability, mismanagement or performative leadership.
Alabama remains a conservative state. It always has been. For much of its history, it elected conservatives whether they ran as Democrats or Republicans. What changed was not ideology, but sorting. Beginning with Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy and reinforced through later realignments, including Ronald Reagan’s accommodation with the Christian right, party identity gradually replaced judgment. Over time, the letter beside a candidate’s name came to carry more weight than preparation, temperament or capacity to govern.
That is not wisdom. It is habit.
And habits, left unchecked, can quietly erode the standards voters believe they are defending.
Kay Ivey’s tenure stands as a reminder of what happens when judgment still matters. She did not govern as a brand or an avatar. She governed as an executive. Her appeal was not novelty or outrage, but familiarity, restraint and a willingness to do the work without demanding constant validation.
When identity replaces judgment, the risk is not that voters choose the wrong ideology. The risk is that they stop asking whether a candidate is prepared to govern at all. And when that question goes unasked, the cost is never abstract—it is paid quietly, over time, by families who do not have the luxury of treating politics as entertainment.
Kay Ivey will not be remembered as the loudest governor Alabama has had. She will be remembered as one who led the state well—and who showed, almost inadvertently, how rare that has become.
Standards, once lowered, are difficult to restore. And when they slip quietly, they rarely announce themselves until the consequences are already felt.
Alabama now faces a choice that will not be resolved by slogans or party labels. It will be resolved by whether voters continue to ask the most basic question of anyone seeking executive power: are you prepared to govern—or only to perform?
Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday set an execution date for death row inmate Jeremy Williams, who was convicted in the 2021 kidnapping, rape and murder of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland in Phenix City.
Williams is scheduled to be executed by the state’s three-drug lethal injection during a 30-hour window beginning at 12 a.m. August 13 and ending at 6 a.m. August 14. The execution date comes after the Alabama Supreme Court granted a request from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on June 16, authorizing the state to carry out the sentence.
In a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace, Ivey said the Supreme Court’s June 16 order serves as the official death warrant for Williams.
“By law, I am required to specify the time frame for carrying out the sentence of death,” Ivey said. “Accordingly, I hereby order that Jeremy Lee Williams’s sentence of death be carried out within a time frame beginning on August 13, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. and ending on August 14, 2026, at 6:00 a.m.”
Ivey noted that she retains the authority to commute the sentence before the execution takes place.
Williams, 34, was convicted in April 2024 on four counts of capital murder stemming from Holland’s death. Prosecutors charged him with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a rape, capital murder during first-degree sodomy and capital murder of a child younger than 14.
Authorities said Holland disappeared from her family’s home in Phenix City on December 13, 2021. Her body was discovered two days later inside an abandoned house less than a mile away. An autopsy determined that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
In addition to the death sentence, Williams received several other prison terms. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking and for knowingly producing recordings depicting the sexual abuse of a child. He also received another life sentence for a separate sexual abuse conviction, along with a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and a 10-year sentence for abuse of a corpse.
Unlike most death row inmates, Williams sought to speed up the execution process. During a hearing, he told the court that he accepted responsibility for his actions and wanted the sentence carried out.
In 2025, Williams dismissed his attorneys and informed the court that he wished to waive any remaining appeals and proceed with his execution. Russell County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson determined that Williams was competent to make that decision and allowed him to forgo further legal challenges.
Under Alabama law, capital convictions automatically receive appellate review. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently affirmed Williams’ conviction and death sentence in March.
After that review concluded, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court in May to authorize an execution date. The court granted the request earlier this week, clearing the way for Ivey to schedule the execution.
If carried out as scheduled, Williams’ execution would occur nearly five years after Holland’s death and a little more than two years after he was sentenced to death.
Williams’ execution would be Alabama’s first by lethal injection since April 2025. The state’s three most recent executions were carried out using nitrogen hypoxia, which Alabama began using in 2024.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – You don’t find too many camps where you learn how to slap someone. But this summer, you will in Montgomery. It’s one of many kids camps put on by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“We have our Camp Shakespeare Junior which is our half day for the littles, kindergarten through 3rd grade,” said Cameron Williams, the ASF director of education. “We have Big Kid Shakespeare camp and everyone is learning all about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.”
They learn about on stage combat, different acting techniques, and also how to be creative and think on their feet.
“I think theater skills are life skills. So, what makes this camp special is we’re doing more than just boosting literacy and doing theater things. We’re doing life skills, learning what it means to be team players, about discipline, and working with people who may have different personalities than you.”
Different kids have different talents. And even if your child isn’t up for a lead role in the next play, this place can leave a lasting impact.
“If you’re looking for a place where your kid can come out of their shell, to learn how to speak in front of a group, and develop some confidence, this is the place to be.”
It’s a place that’s a real treasure in Montgomery, and its mining some young gems, who one day, could be on the big stage themselves. There are still more ASF camps going on this summer for pre-teens and even adults.
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Huntsville-based defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements in contracts with the U.S. Department of the Navy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act alleging that LOGZONE knowingly submitted claims for payment while not meeting certain cybersecurity standards required under two Navy contracts.
Federal officials alleged that between May 2021 and March 2025, LOGZONE did not implement specific cybersecurity controls outlined in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171. The standards are designed to protect sensitive defense information handled by government contractors.
According to the Justice Department, the deficiencies were identified during an assessment conducted by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The evaluation resulted in LOGZONE receiving a score of -170 on a scale ranging from -203 to 110, indicating significant gaps in compliance with required security controls.
The government alleged that the missing cybersecurity measures could have increased the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information or the exploitation of company systems.
The settlement does not include a determination of liability. As part of the agreement, LOGZONE will pay $507,144 to resolve the allegations.
Federal officials said the enforcement action reflects ongoing efforts to ensure government contractors comply with cybersecurity obligations tied to federal contracts, particularly those involving sensitive defense information.
The investigation and settlement involved the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the Department of the Navy, the Defense Contract Management Agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
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Additional details regarding corrective actions taken by the company were not immediately available.
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