RCB President Nancy Goedecke and Past President Bruce Rogers with Rotarian Doug Jones
The Rotary Club of Birmingham (RCB) recently welcomed Rotarian Doug Jones, former U.S. Senator who discussed his priorities for Alabama as he seeks to become the state’s next governor. Jones framed his remarks around Rotary’s Four-Way Test and outlined three opportunities he believes every Alabamian should have: to live a healthy life, to meaningfully participate in government, and to achieve economic prosperity.
Jones identified health care access, workforce participation and the cost of living as key challenges facing the state. He discussed expanding Medicaid, supporting rural hospitals, reducing grocery and income taxes, addressing housing and child care costs, and investing in workforce training, apprenticeships and public transportation. He outlined proposals involving government transparency and ethics reform, public education, support for small businesses and changes to the state’s prison system. He discussed how Alabama’s approach to these issues could affect its ability to attract businesses, recruit workers and support communities across the state.
The club also welcomed his opponent, Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
Bio for Doug Jones
Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones has spent his career fighting for justice. Appointed by the President in 1997, he served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. He successfully prosecuted two of the men responsible for the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, bringing long-overdue justice nearly 40 years after the attack that killed four young girls, becoming a defining figure in Alabama’s civil rights legacy.
In 2017, Jones made history by winning Alabama’s U.S. Senate special election, becoming the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama in 25 years. During his time in the Senate, he built a reputation as an effective, bipartisan legislator, passing more than two dozen bills into law and fighting for working families, voting rights, healthcare access, and economic opportunity.
In 2022, he was appointed by the President as Nomination Advisor for Legislative Affairs, where he helped secure bipartisan support for the historic confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now, Doug Jones is running for Governor of Alabama to build an economy that works for working families, strengthen public education, expand healthcare access, and restore honest, effective leadership to Alabama’s state capital.