On Thursday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that she is appointing Drew Harrell as director of legislative affairs.
“Alabama has some major items to tackle, which will require a bold legislative agenda from my Administration over the next four years, and Drew is the right man to help me accomplish our goals,” Ivey said in an emailed statement shared with Alabama Today. “I am proud to have Drew join our team as we work to ensure Alabama’s best days are yet to come,” said Governor Ivey. “Drew cares deeply for our state, is an incredibly hard worker, and a great family man. We will certainly miss having William, but sure are proud of him as he brings his skills to his alma mater, and we are thrilled to be adding Drew to the Ivey Administration.”
Ivey was recently overwhelmingly re-elected Governor Ivey to a second term.
The governor’s current director of legislative affairs, William Filmore, is leaving the Administration to serve his alma mater, Troy University, leading their governmental affairs team.
Harrell comes from the powerful Business Council of Alabama (BCA), where he is most recently the vice president of governmental affairs. He also served as the executive director of the organization’s political action committee, ProgressPAC. Harrell has held a variety of responsibilities at BCA and was a key figure in advancing the group’s policy for the state of Alabama, including the controversial 2019 Rebuild Alabama Act, which raised fuel taxes on the people of Alabama to fund road projects. That initiative was championed by Gov. Ivey.
“I am deeply honored to be joining Governor Ivey’s Administration and thankful to her for the opportunity to serve as director of legislative affairs,” said Harrell. “I am excited about helping Governor Ivey advance policies that will move Alabama ahead. I am grateful for the years I have spent at BCA, which have more than prepared me for this new challenge.”
Harrell is a former athlete, lettering in football and baseball at Huntingdon College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Harrell has a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University. He serves as vice president of Huntingdon College’s National Alumni Board of Directors.
Filmore will continue serving in the Ivey Administration through the end of November.
“Working for Governor Kay Ivey has been the honor of a lifetime,” Fillmore stated. “She is a proven leader who works as hard as anyone in Montgomery. Governor Ivey personally cares about Alabama’s citizens and our future, which is why – through her strong relationship with the Legislature – she has succeeded in improving our infrastructure, education, mental health care, economic development, and broadband, among many other accomplishments. I am confident our state will continue to prosper, and more progress will be made through the leadership of Governor Ivey and her team in the next four years.”
Harrell joins Parker Harris and Michele Brown in the Legislative Affairs Office beginning December 1. Ivey still has to fill the senate liaison role, which was made vacated when Brooks McClendon was promoted to serve as Ivey’s deputy chief of staff.
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