This week on The Voice of Alabama Politics, host Bill Britt joined Susan Britt and APR columnist Josh Moon for a wide-ranging discussion that moved from a newly filed governor’s race to electric rates, data center growth, and escalating political pressure on public media and libraries.
The show opened with confirmation that former U.S. Senator Doug Jones has officially filed paperwork with the Alabama Secretary of State to run for governor, formalizing a race that could ultimately pit him against U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has said he will leave the Senate to pursue the office.
“It seems to me that a lot of people have gotten very excited about the Jones campaign,” Bill Britt said, noting the filing was quickly picked up by national and local media. Moon agreed, saying the filing immediately reshaped the contest. “When we’re talking about name ID and likelihood of victory, there are two people in the race right now,” he said. “There’s Tommy Tuberville and there’s Doug Jones.”
Susan Britt said Jones’s record explains the attention, pointing to his work as U.S. attorney prosecuting the men responsible for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, his role in the Birmingham clinic bombing case, and his Senate record on healthcare, veterans, workforce development and HBCU funding. “Doug got some 27 bills passed in the short period he was there,” she said, emphasizing the bipartisan nature of his work.
The panel contrasted that record with Tuberville’s Senate tenure and discussed his campaign’s response, which labeled Jones “Comrade Doug” and declared the race “already over.” Bill Britt dismissed the remark as “the most childish fashion imaginable,” while Moon said such rhetoric misunderstands Alabama voters. “They want you to tell them what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, and how you’re going to help them,” Moon said. “Name-calling doesn’t do that.”
Britt added that he has heard privately from business leaders who feel pressured during interactions with Tuberville’s political operation. “I’ve heard from more than one business leader who says they’re being extorted for campaign contributions,” Britt said, calling it “deeply concerning.”
The discussion then turned to energy policy, focusing on Alabama Power’s proposal to hold electric rates flat through 2027. Britt called it “a major move,” saying the company appears to be seeking stability for customers amid inflation and rising costs. Susan Britt said the plan gives families predictability. “They know they can count on their power bills not to go up,” she said.
Moon welcomed the effort but reminded viewers that rate decisions ultimately rest with the Alabama Public Service Commission. “These things are governed by a commission in this state,” he said, suggesting public frustration is often misplaced.
That led to a broader conversation about data center growth, sparked by an APR opinion column from Public Service Commission President Cynthia Lee Almond. Britt said Almond “staked out her ground” by arguing that while data centers offer major economic potential, the cost cannot fall on residents. Moon agreed, warning that unchecked expansion could strain energy and natural resources if poorly governed.
The show closed with discussion of cultural and educational battles now playing out statewide. Britt recounted Alabama’s history as the first state to launch a statewide educational television network in 1955 and described a packed Alabama Educational Television Commission meeting that halted, for now, an effort to sever ties with PBS. Supporters filled the room wearing shirts reading “Elmo is not the enemy of the people,” responding to commissioners who previously labeled PBS “the enemy.”
“PBS has taught a generation of kids empathy, kindness, and how to live with one another,” Moon said, arguing that hostility toward public broadcasting is ultimately about control of information.
The panel also examined new rules from the Alabama Public Library Service requiring books addressing transgender topics or broader concepts of gender to be moved to adult sections or removed. Britt said the changes fit squarely into a broader culture-war strategy, while Moon pushed back on government dictating library collections. “The library is a building that has books in it,” he said. “Your job is to fund it, not decide what ideas people get to see.”
New episodes of The Voice of Alabama Politics are released weekly on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, BlueSky and other platforms.
