Former Alabama Veterans Affairs Head Sues Governor Ivey for Wrongful Termination and Defamation

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BuzzReport) – W. Kent Davis, the former head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, has filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Kay Ivey, alleging wrongful termination and defamation. The suit, filed Wednesday, claims Ivey illegally fired Davis in 2023 in retaliation for actions and statements she allegedly disliked.

Davis, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, was terminated last year after a public dispute with the Governor’s office. Ivey asserted her “supreme executive power of this state” to dismiss Davis, delivering the termination letter to Davis’s lawyer just 45 minutes after the State Board of Veterans Affairs, the entity that hired Davis, voted 3-2 against her request to remove him.

Kenny Mendelsohn, Davis’s lawyer, argues that Ivey lacked the authority to fire his client. “We think it’s pretty clear that she did not have the authority to fire him. He did not work at the pleasure of the governor,” Mendelsohn stated.

Governor Ivey’s office remains steadfast in its position. “We are very confident Governor Ivey’s necessary actions will stand any court test there may be,” spokesperson Gina Maiola wrote in an email.

The conflict between Davis and Ivey’s office publicly erupted last year over an American Rescue Plan grant. The dispute intensified after Davis filed an ethics complaint against the state mental health commissioner, following the Department of Mental Health’s cancellation of an agreement to administer the grants. The Alabama Ethics Commission subsequently dismissed the complaint.

Davis believes the ethics complaint was the catalyst for his firing. “I don’t think anybody in this room doubts what the real reason here is. This is retaliation for that ethics complaint,” he said.

Governor Ivey has accused Davis of failing to cooperate with her office and other agency heads and of mishandling the American Rescue Plan grant program. In an October 18th letter to Davis, Ivey criticized his ethics complaint as frivolous and a “weaponization of the dispute process.”

Davis contends that his office acted appropriately and that the Governor’s actions and statements have negatively impacted his ability to secure future employment. The lawsuit aims to address the alleged wrongful termination and reputational damage. The legal battle is expected to be closely watched as it raises questions about the limits of gubernatorial power and the protection of whistleblowers.