AUBURN, Ala. — Gov.-elect Tommy Tuberville mentioned coastal Alabama several times in his victory speech Tuesday night, touching on tourism, shipbuilding, the Port of Mobile and rural broadband.
Tourism and shipbuilding
Tuberville, who defeated Democrat Doug Jones, told supporters, “Millions of tourists are coming to our beaches down in the Gulf.” He also pledged to back industrial growth in Mobile. “We’re building ships in Mobile and getting ready to grow larger,” he said.
Broadband promise
He promised action on long-running efforts to expand high-speed internet, an issue that matters in rural areas across the state, not only in southwest Alabama. “Broadband in every county because we’ve been talking about it since I was a coach here in Auburn 16 years ago, and by the grace of God, we’re going to finish it,” he said.
Families in the Black Belt have faced slow, spotty or no service. Tuberville said money has already been allocated to bring high-speed internet to 92,000 homes and businesses, and that providers face 36-month construction deadlines on those grant awards. His campaign blueprint, called the “Golden Age Playbook,” calls for cutting permitting delays and using every technology that works, including fiber, cable and satellite.
Port of Mobile
Another plank of the playbook pledges to make the Port of Mobile a “gold mine.” Tuberville said that in the coming legislative session he will push to require companies that receive state incentives to use Mobile’s port rather than ports in other states. “Because if business take our incentive money in this state, they’re going to use the Port of Mobile,” he said. “That’s the game plan.”
The port has been a recurring theme of the campaign. Earlier coverage includes former Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s endorsement of Tuberville, which cited ports and I-65, and a report on Tuberville’s stop in Orange Beach. Results of the governor’s race remain unofficial until certified, and South AL News examined how Mobile and Baldwin counties voted in a separate story.
