MOBILE, Ala. — Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee for governor of Alabama, and Phillip Ensler, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, answered questions directly from Mobile residents during a town hall at Bishop State Community College on Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The Mobile County Democratic Executive Committee hosted the event. Other special guests included local officials and legislators including Senator Vivian Figures, Representative Sam Jones, Representative Adline Clark and Representative Napoleon Bracy.
The Same Questions, Town After Town
From other town hall meetings along the campaign trail, Jones said he already anticipated some of what Mobile residents would raise.
“We see variations of the same questions — people are concerned about these gas prices, they would like to see the state do something to alleviate that,” Jones said. “But they’re concerned about healthcare, they want to see Medicaid expanded. They’re concerned about prison reform because of what they saw in Alabama Solution . . . By and large, people are concerned about the same things, and that’s healthcare, education, data centers, retirement.”
A One-Year Moratorium on Data Centers
According to Jones, opposition to data centers — including the Lumen data center in Mobile — has been a significant concern in this campaign.
“People are very concerned about that [data center construction], these things started popping up — they’re angry, they didn’t know about it,” Jones said. “I’ve called for a one-year moratorium to put guardrails on these data centers. Tommy Tuberville has taken just the opposite approach.”
The grievance Jones identified is less about the facilities themselves than about process — residents learning of projects after decisions had been made. Data centers raise questions about electricity demand, water use for cooling, land use and the scale of any tax incentives relative to permanent employment, and those questions are typically resolved at the state and local level before most residents become aware a project exists.
Teacher Raises, the Lottery and the CHOOSE Act
Another pressing concern from Mobile residents was education.
Jones said he aims to give teachers and education support officials — administrators, custodians and others — a “meaningful raise,” funded by bringing the lottery to Alabama and phasing out the CHOOSE Act to pull more money back into public education. That includes a cost-of-living raise for retired teachers.
Alabama is one of a small number of states without a state lottery, and lottery proposals have repeatedly been introduced in the Legislature without reaching enactment. The CHOOSE Act is Alabama’s education savings account program, which directs state funds to eligible families for private school tuition and other approved educational expenses. Jones’s proposal ties those two policies together: new revenue from one source, redirected funds from another.
Youth Violence and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
One Mobile resident asked about Jones’s plan to address youth violence.
Jones said he wants to end the “school-to-prison pipeline” by offering some law enforcement specialized training “not just to go out there and investigate crimes, but to go out there and be part of the community.” He also said he wants to ensure children have opportunities after school to stay engaged with the community.
Ensler on Twelve Former Students
Phillip Ensler spoke about the loss of twelve former students to gun violence from his time teaching in Montgomery.
“We were elected to be lawmakers, which means we need to enact laws that are going to help save lives,” Ensler said.
He led an effort in Montgomery that provided specific conflict resolution counselors to the school system. Ensler’s work resulted in a new law requiring students in grades six through twelve to complete conflict resolution courses.
“If we invest in them at an early age and we continue that investment, that is the best way to deal with it and the best way to prevent them from getting caught up in gun violence,” Ensler said.
“We’re Going to Expand Medicaid in Alabama”
Another question from the community concerned Jones’s plan to expand healthcare, particularly Medicaid.
“We’re going to expand Medicaid in Alabama,” Jones said. “If forty other states can afford it, we can afford it.”
He said he plans to expand services including ambulatory care, OB/GYN services, telehealth and mental health, especially in rural areas. While he called it a “heavy lift,” Jones said that if allowed to sign a bill expanding Medicaid eligibility as governor, he would sign it “on day one.”
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act extends eligibility to adults under a set income threshold, with the federal government covering the large majority of the cost. Alabama is among the states that have not adopted it. The obstetric services Jones referenced are a particular pressure point in rural Alabama, where labor and delivery units have closed in a number of counties.
Veterans
One resident raised concerns about care for veterans.
“We’re going to need to step in and fund veteran care centers more so veterans can get help for their VA benefits — it’s a struggle,” Jones said.
He said he plans to put more effort into veterans’ assistance programs for accessing benefits and into veterans’ homes, and to keep politics out of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Election Dates
Both Jones and Ensler said they share concerns about addressing the affordability crisis, expanding access to healthcare and ensuring public safety.
The general election will take place on Nov. 3, 2026. The deadline to register and update voter information is Oct. 19, 2026.
This article reports statements made by the candidates at a campaign event and does not constitute an endorsement. Voters can review positions from all candidates on the November ballot through their official campaign materials and the Alabama Secretary of State’s office.
Update: More From the Bishop State Town Hall
Additional detail has emerged from the Sept. 16 town hall at Bishop State Community College, where Doug Jones, lieutenant governor candidate Phillip Ensler and other down-ticket candidates and lawmakers took unscripted questions for two hours in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
The Night’s Sharpest Line Came Before Jones Spoke
State Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, used her introduction of the former U.S. senator to recall Democrats’ 2017 effort to elect Jones over Roy Moore.
“Doug, we are looking forward to kicking Tuberville’s ass,” Figures said.
Fuel Prices
Jones opened on rising fuel costs, arguing that the price of diesel is squeezing Alabama farmers, truckers and Gulf Coast shrimpers and will ultimately reach consumers. Mobile has seen record-high diesel prices in recent days, above $6 per gallon.
“Those costs, every one of those costs, are coming right back to you,” Jones said. He went on to criticize repeated predictions that prices would fall: “You remember now he’s saying it’s going to come down right after the midterms. He’s also going to give you five grand, right? If you believe that, you can also believe that Tommy Tuberville is going to give veterans every dime of his salary. None, none of that happened.”
Minimum Wage
Mobile native Tracy Neely asked how Democrats could better explain issues such as raising the minimum wage to Republican voters. Jones pointed to the state’s poverty rate.
“We’re one of the poorest states in the country, and we are poor in part because we refuse to raise the minimum wage, and if we can do anything in this state to raise people out of poverty, doggone it, we owe it to our fellow citizens to do it,” he said.
Teacher and Support Staff Raises
Mia Ward, a human resources specialist with Mobile County’s school system, asked what salary increases Jones would seek for teachers and education support employees.
Jones said raises would be a priority but declined to commit to a figure.
“I wish I could tell you that I would increase it 15, 20 percent in year one, I can’t do that right now,” Jones said. “I want to make sure that we’ve got the money to do it, but I can tell you this: the teacher raises — the cost of living adjustments — they are going to be a priority for the Doug Jones administration to get our teachers where they need to be on par with the rest of the country.”
Veterans
A question on veterans prompted Jones to recount his Senate work to eliminate what was commonly called the military widow’s tax. He said Alabama should put more resources into veterans centers and homes, and should roll back legislation that placed the head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs under the governor rather than a nonpartisan board.
“We’re going to repeal the law,” Jones said. “And we’re going to go back to the original intent of the 1945 bill that created it, and being nonpartisan and take politics out of everything having to do with veterans.”
The reference is to events beginning in 2024, when Gov. Kay Ivey used her “supreme executive power” to remove Kent Davis as ADVA commissioner. Subsequent state legislation restructured the board so the position serves at the pleasure of the governor rather than the ADVA board of directors.
Rural Health Care
Another Mobile resident raised concerns about elderly Alabamians living far from hospitals and other medical care, particularly in rural communities. Jones pointed to Medicaid expansion as his first step toward improving access to rural hospitals, clinics and telehealth.
“I’m going to tell you we’re going to expand Medicaid in Alabama,” Jones said. “Alabama can afford it. If 40 other states can afford it, we can afford it.”
Mobile Bay and Dredged Material
The Rev. Dr. Ron Stone asked how Jones would ensure enforcement of an Alabama law concerning the beneficial use of dredged material in Mobile Bay. Jones acknowledged the limits of a governor’s authority over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but said he would use the office to press federal officials.
“The governor doesn’t have the power to do that alone, but the governor does have a bull in the bullpen,” Jones said. “I’m going to be knocking on doors of the Army Corps of Engineers, and I’m going to take all the legislators with me.”
Data Centers and the Environment
Jones called for strengthening the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and argued economic development and environmental protection are not opposed.
“First thing we want to do is put a moratorium on data centers,” he said, drawing applause. He said Tuberville took too aggressive an approach on the issue this summer by declaring Alabama “will do” data centers under his administration.
“I can’t believe he said that, and he starts backtracking,” Jones said. “I will do everything in my power to beef up the ADEM, which has been a toothless tiger for so too long in the state of Alabama. We have too many amazing resources. We have too many amazing biodiversity areas, and this area is the prime example. You go from one end of the state to the other — this is one of the most beautiful states in the entire country, and we need to do every damn thing we can to protect it.”
Crime
The final question addressed crime across Alabama. Jones described an approach combining law enforcement resources with education, mental health care, prison and parole changes and community-based efforts rather than a single statewide solution.
“We are Democrats. I guarantee you, we are not Democrats that want to defund the police,” Jones said. “We want to make sure they have adequate resources to put to making communities safe, but there’s also other issues that we need to address too.”