Jerry Gehman was terminated from his designee’s position on the Southern Rail Commission earlier this week after making inappropriate statements upon learning that the state missed a deadline to apply for a federal railroad grant on June 21.

To read more about the grant application, click here.

Gehman was notified of his termination on June 25, the same day Gov. Kay Ivey sent a letter saying the same to SRC Chairman John Spain.

“The governor’s designee serves in the place of the governor on the Southern Rail Commission. The position is meant to be a direct representative who carries out the governor’s decisions,” Spain said. “After Mr. Gehman’s public remarks last Friday (June 22) against the governor’s decision, Gov. Ivey decided to remove Mr. Gehman and select a new designee that can support her decisions.”

Spain and the SRC apologized for Gehman’s statements in a letter.

“Please allow me to express my apologies on behalf of the Southern Rail Commission for the inappropriate statements made by Mr. Gehman, which were his own and do not reflect the views of the commission,” Spain wrote. “In fact, we requested and had multiple meetings and conversations with your chief of staff (Steve Pelham) to discuss restoring passenger rail service to Mobile. Those meetings and conversations were productive, cordial and professional and we are grateful for the time spent with our commissioners.”

Gehman, in a lengthy interview on June 27, acknowledged that it was his statements about Ivey that cost him his role with the SRC.

See Wednesday’s paper for the complete story.