Doug Jones, Shomari Figures: Macon County Won’t Be Forgotten

From the Jones campaign

Tuskegee, AL – Macon County has gone decades without a hospital, still lacks reliable broadband in some communities and doesn't have enough housing for students attending Tuskegee University.

At a town hall at Washington Chapel AME Church, Doug Jones and Congressman Shomari Figures made clear that Macon County will not be forgotten.

When residents raised concerns about broadband, Jones said rural communities deserve the same infrastructure as Alabama’s larger cities.

“When I get to be governor, it's going to happen,” Jones said. “Folks in Macon County are going to get treated just like a lot of the folks in Huntsville and Birmingham and Mobile.”

Jones also called for more state resources to support housing around Alabama’s HBCUs and said some of the incentives Alabama uses to recruit large companies should instead help small businesses and entrepreneurs open businesses and bring vacant buildings in rural downtowns back to life.

Figures pointed to federal investments in Macon County, including $1 million for public safety in Tuskegee, as well as funding for sewer infrastructure in Shorter and research at Tuskegee University.

Macon County hasn't had a hospital since the late 1980s. Jones said Medicaid expansion could help bring doctors and nurses back while strengthening the local economy.

“Expanding Medicaid is going to do so much. It is not just for health care,” Jones said. “It is for the economic health of the entire community, because it’s those hospitals that drive the economy.”

The full Town Hall video may be seen on YouTube and below: