Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee for governor, held a town hall at IBEW Local 558 on Thursday. More than 250 people attended the event to ask questions.
This was Jones’ third trip to the Shoals this election cycle. He came in December for a community discussion and returned in April for a listening session, the candidate’s press release shared.
One voter asked about ALICE families, the households working full time and still falling short on housing, child care and transportation. Another attendee asked about the new power transformer factory coming to the Shoals.
“That’s going to be about a thousand new jobs,” Jones said. “I am not convinced that that is filtering down to the local workers as much as it should. We need to make sure that when these folks are coming in here, they make certain guarantees, not on the tax base, but that they bring in jobs that are going to be good paying, that are going to give people opportunities for advancement.”
Before the town hall, Jones sat down privately with union workers at the hall. His father was a U.S. Steel worker in Fairfield, and Jones was a card-carrying union member before entering public service.
“I still believe that unions have built the middle class in Alabama,” he told the crowd.
One voter introduced herself as a lifelong Republican who doesn’t support Tommy Tuberville. She told Jones, “It’s about the man, right?” Jones embraced her and thanked her for her story.
She wanted to know where Jones stood on the lottery. He told her he was all for it, that Alabama was the only Southern state without one, and asked her how she thought the money should be spent.
“Education,” she said.
“Education is the main thing,” Jones agreed.
The next Town Hall with Doug Jones will be held in Dothan on July 22. To learn more, visit mobilize.us/dougforalabama.
