Tommy Tuberville

Though he’s the underdog in Alabama’s race for governor, Doug Jones said he’s committed to running a strong campaign against Tommy Tuberville -- and he said he thinks he can win.

Tuberville beat Jones in a 2020 election for the U.S. Senate seat. Jones originally that seat in 2017.

“He’s got a record now that he did not have in 2020, and it is a record that has embarrassed the state,” Jones told AL.com, referencing Tuberville’s Senate votes on a housing bill, military promotions and infrastructure.

“It is a record that does not reflect the values of the state, which is not surprising from someone who doesn’t spend any time here,” Jones said, in a dig at Tuberville’s residency.

Jones sat down with AL.com, answering questions submitted by readers about the lottery, teacher pay and Tuberville.

“It does not have to be us versus them. It’s damn sure not good versus evil,” Jones said.

“It’s about trying to get something done for Alabama.”

Tuberville has not responded to a request from AL.com for an interview.

Q: How would you protect retirement benefits for teachers and public employees?

Jones said he wants to make sure that retired teachers “regularly” get cost of living adjustments.

Teachers often work for low pay, he said, with the understanding that they’ll be taken care of in retirement.

“It is going to take some moving around. There’s no doubt about that. But I, we owe it to folks,” he said.

He also criticized a comment by Tuberville that Social Security is a “scam.”

Tuberville has suggested that the program is not run effectively and that retirees might be better off if they pay money into private investment accounts.

Q. Do you have a position on Flock cameras? How do you balance surveillance and public safety?

“I see the value of some of those cameras in circumstances to to either prevent crime or solve crime, they are a deterrent in many instances, and they certainly can help,” Jones said.

“But I’ve also been reading a lot lately about the abuses. You know, those systems are only as good as the people that are running or have access to them.”

In Alabama, several local officers recently have been investigated for allegedly accessing cameras.

Jones said decisions about cameras should be made locally.

“I’d like to see more guardrails going up. I can’t say that I would try as a governor to ban them statewide,” he said.

“I think that that is as much as anything a local decision with law enforcement and what works best for them, what they believe can help protect their folks the best.”

Q: if you do a one-year data center moratorium, what other rules or regulations would you change to address the issue?

In his response, Jones questioned both the need for the growing number of data centers and the lack of local regulations.

“We’ve got to make sure that we have the certain guardrails to protect communities. Importantly, I think it’s incredibly important that communities have a say so, that the people that live there have a say so in how this happens and whether or not it happens in their communities,” he said.

Jones has proposed a one-year moratorium on large, hyperscale data centers.

Tuberville has stated support for some development.

Jones also said he thinks companies should pay more in local taxes and that zoning regulations should be improved.

“I want I want to see Alabama progress, but I also don’t necessarily believe that it is going to be the economic boon to the state and to these communities that they are hyped up to be,” he said.

Q: Why should a Republican consider voting for you?

“If they’re satisfied with the way things are going, fine. Don’t,” Jones said.

“But we’re still below par in almost every quality of life standard that is out there. Republicans have had complete control. The leadership has had complete control since 2010.”

Q: Where do you stand on the lottery and marijuana legalization?

Jones said he is “all for the lottery.”

He said he wants a clean lottery that brings more money into the state. If the legislature decides to work on a broader gambling package, he would work on that too.

Q: And how about marijuana?

Jones said he believes some aspects of marijuana should be decriminalized. He said he’s open to legalization if it can be managed properly and bring revenue to the state.

Jones criticized Alabama’s current medical marijuana process, which has faced years of lawsuits. The state’s first legal dispensary opened this year.

“We control alcoholic beverages pretty well, and have done it for a long time,” he said.

“We should be able to also control marijuana if we want to decriminalize it and move towards toward legalization. The biggest problem we have: we got too damn many people who want to get again their fingers in the pie.”

Q: Would you continue to fund the CHOOSE Act?

Jones has been critical of Alabama’s popular school choice program, where families can get up to $7,000 to put toward private school expenses.

He said people in the program should be able to continue using it, but he wants to phase the program out and keep the focus of the state on public education.

“I’m not against private schools, but I am against people that can afford to send their kids to private schools getting a handout from the state and state taxpayer dollars to do that,” he said.

Q: What’s an issue you agree with Tommy Tuberville on?

[Long pause]

“Here’s something. I just saw it yesterday,” Jones said finally.

“You know he and Senator Britt passed a bill to not give a whole bunch of bonuses to postal executives, the postal service executives, unless they meet certain positive criteria. I’m all for that.”