Phillip Ensler, the Democratic nominee for Alabama lieutenant governor, announced his platform Wednesday on the steps of the Alabama Statehouse.

“My platform is based on what I’ve heard from everyday Alabamians, teachers, nurses and doctors, law enforcement, laborers, over the course of this campaign and throughout my years as a public servant,” Ensler said. “Politicians ought to listen to the people, and they ought to turn what the people are telling them into policy.”

Ensler led the slate of policies with his commitment to pursue a state lottery.

“Every day we wait, we’re losing potential tax revenue to Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee instead of generating that revenue here and using it to fund vital services,” Ensler said. “We could even use that revenue to send rebate checks directly to hard-working Alabamians to help ease the burden of rising costs and inflation.”

As data centers have become an increasingly important issue in the race, Ensler reaffirmed his stance that a moratorium must be enacted on data center construction until guardrails are in place to ensure transparency.

“Communities across this state are watching these massive, hyperscale data centers try to come to town in the dark of night and under the cover of non-disclosure agreements,” Ensler said. “They’re asking questions, but they’re not getting any answers. This has to stop until there is transparency.”

As a representative in the state legislature, Ensler helped to shepherd through bills on gun safety, and that continues to be part of his platform for lieutenant governor.

“Guns are the leading cause of death for Alabama’s children,” Ensler said. “If people with kids want to have a gun in the home, that gun should be safely stored. When someone is going through a mental health crisis, loved ones should be able to take action to keep a gun out of their hands. And, if we actually respect law enforcement, we should bring back the permit requirement for carrying in public. None of this is an affront to the Second Amendment. 

“And as to law enforcement and first responders, those who run toward danger, we need to show our appreciation with things like signing bonuses, loan forgiveness, and housing assistance. We also need to keep funding conflict resolution programs. Programs that teach our young people to solve problems with words instead of guns or fists.”

Ensler also indicated his goal to fully eliminate the tax on groceries and overtime pay, while raising the minimum wage.

He also joined Doug Jones, Democratic nominee for governor, in criticizing the CHOOSE Act which sends public money to private schools.

“Instead of treating our teachers right and strengthening our public schools, our current leadership is using our tax dollars to pay for private school vouchers,” Ensler said. “It’s a government handout that drains public schools of resources and mostly benefits families who can already afford private school. If people want to send their kids to private school, that’s their right, but it shouldn’t be the rest of our jobs to pay for it.”