No Script. No Hand-Picked Questions. Just Doug Jones.

Eutaw, AL – Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee for governor, kicked off his statewide Town Hall Tour in Greene County on Wednesday by taking unscreened questions from Alabama voters about rural hospitals, Medicaid, voting rights, education, housing costs, and the economy. 

Nothing was off limits. Jones came to listen, answer questions, and talk about solutions. He shared his plans to save rural hospitals, lower health care costs, and make the government answer to the people instead of the powerful. That's a sharp contrast with his opponent, Tommy Tuberville, who spent the past few weeks voting against a bipartisan effort to lower housing costs, threatening food assistance for working families, and reminding everyone that outrage is easier than governing.

Jones chose Greene County because no county better represents the power of civic participation. In the May 19th primary, 51% of registered voters in Greene County cast a ballot. That was more than twice the statewide turnout of 23%.

"This is where we need to go to celebrate voting, to celebrate people who understand that civic engagement and participating in government is incredibly important,” Jones said. “That’s why we’re here and I’m proud to be here.”

The commitment to democracy runs deep in the Black Belt. During the visit, Jones reunited with Emma Jackson, sister of civil rights martyr Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was killed by a state trooper during a peaceful demonstration in 1965. Jackson’s murder was a catalyst for the Selma-to-Montgomery marches that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Jones addressed the gutting of that Voting Rights Act directly.

"If you're 61 years old or younger, you've never lived in a country where you couldn't simply walk down to the courthouse and register to vote easily. You’ve never lived in a country where you didn’t have somebody advocating for your right to vote and could go to court to protect it. That part of the Voting Rights Act is completely gone. We've got to do something to get nonpartisan commissions to draw these lines."

The Greene County Town Hall was the first of many Doug Jones will hold before November 3rd. If you’re asking Alabamians to trust you as their governor, the least you can do is answer their questions.

The next Town Hall with Doug Jones will be held in The Shoals on Thursday, July 9th. Learn more at mobilize.us/dougforalabama.

###

The full Greene County Town Hall is available here