JD Crowe: Proposed law will ‘silence’ Alabama veterans in ‘power grab ‘by Gov. Ivey
This is an opinion cartoon
Should Alabama support its veterans or endorse a political power grab by the governor?
Pretty simple question. A question the powers-that-be would rather your ears didn’t hear or your eyes didn’t read. If SB 67 passes you won’t have a choice.
If Kay Ivey and GOP lawmakers have their way, politics could trump veterans.
From the AL.com story: State lawmakers are considering a bill to put the governor in charge of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, taking that authority from an appointed state board made up of members of veterans’ organizations.
Related: After Ivey fired Alabama Veterans Affairs commissioner, lawmakers may give her control of department
Under current law, the State Board of Veterans Affairs oversees the ADVA and hires the commissioner to run the agency.
“They’re trying to ram this through in Montgomery to silence veterans,” veteran Pete Riehm told WPMI.
Related: Alabama veterans push back against proposal to restructure state veterans affairs
Riehm is the Military Officers Association of America, Alabama chapter president. He believes the lack of notice on the proposed shake up to the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs is by design.
“Basically, they’re gutting them (veterans) of all power. They have no say. They have no power, and we don’t even have a chance to really put our representatives on there. They’ll all be compliant people, cronies, who will be silent when the veterans go, ‘Hey, we think that’s wrong, or we think there’s a problem over there,’” said Riehm.
Related: Kay Ivey’s firing of veteran VA commissioner blows up in her face
In a letter to elected officials, the South Alabama Veterans Council President Robert Barrow wrote the bill will politicize the agency and harm veterans. Barrow wrote the proposal really stems from a “personal dispute” Governor Kay Ivey had with former Commissioner Kent Davis, who she fired last year after the board voted to keep him. Barrow calls the proposal a power grab by the governor.
“She wanted, the governor, Admiral Davis fired twice, and the board told her no twice. So, I mean, does it take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here?” said Riehm.
Ivey supports the bill and mentioned it during her State of the State address Tuesday night.
“The goal is to have a Board that is a team player within the executive branch and can fiercely and effectively advocate for the unique needs of veterans of every generation – and their families,” Ivey said.
Davis said the bill is in retaliation for the dispute with the governor and the State Board’s refusal to fire him at her request. Davis said veterans’ organizations have not had a say on the bill and said it would be an abrupt change to how the ADVA has operated since 1945.
“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Davis, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who lead the ADVA from 2019 until he was removed by the governor in October.
“That’s a pretty darn drastic change from an 80-year tradition, all of a sudden. And the timing is really interesting.”
Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, who is the sponsor of the legislation in the House, said the bill is not retaliatory but is intended to improve the ADVA and services for veterans.
Oliver’s bill will be discussed in a public hearing Wednesday in the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe
JD Crowe is the cartoonist for AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler at [email protected].
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