OPINION: Alabama must defend Space Command pick
The state of Alabama is heading to court, and it’s seemingly the president’s fault.
Colorado officials filed suit Wednesday to stop the Trump administration from moving the headquarters from its current location in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville.
Perhaps such a lawsuit was inevitable, given the intense back-and-forth between Colorado and Alabama over who gets to have Space Command and its 1,400 jobs. But President Donald Trump has made it easy for Colorado.
When announcing Huntsville as Space Command’s permanent home in September, Trump said Colorado’s mailin voting system “played a big factor” in his decision.
“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump said.
That was the opening Colorado officials needed.
“President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the state for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections,” Colorado said in its lawsuit. “The Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of constitutional right or power.”
Colorado still has an uphill battle ahead. On the merits, Huntsville seems the logical choice, as Alabama officials are happy to tell you.
The Air Force identified the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as its preferred location for the new U.S. Space Command in 2021 following site visits to six states that compared factors such as infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Defense Department.
But in 2023, the Biden administration reversed that decision, arguing that moving Space Command from its temporary home in Colorado would cause a disruption in readiness.
The Biden administration’s argument, however, proves too much. Any major change to any major military or defense program is going to pose some temporary disruptions. To use that as an excuse would mean never changing anything — it’s a recipe for stagnation.
Face facts: The Biden administration preferred Colorado because Colorado is a reliably Democratic state, and Trump prefers Alabama because Alabama is a reliably Republican state.
In this case, it just so happens that Alabama is the better pick.
Trump brought up Colorado’s voting system when he didn’t have to. So, now Alabama will have to fight a legal battle to get Space Command.
100 ways to help
The Northwest Alabama Resource Conservation and Development Council has completed another successful year of providing much-needed assistance in Franklin, Colbert, Lauderdale, Marion and Winston counties.
The RC&D, one of nine such organizations in Alabama, provides grant funding for conservation, education, economic development and community improvement projects.
State Sen. Larry Stutts praised the RC&D as a great example of taxpayers money being used efficiently for local needs. He said he values the program’s accountability and transparency.
State Rep. Jamie Kiel pointed out he has had to be an advocate for continuing the RC&D programs in the state because some legislators just don’t understand how important it is to local communities.
“I go to the budget chairman and explain RC&D and the importance and the impact it has on our area,” Kiel said. “We do have to sell it a little bit.”
We certainly appreciate that salesmanship by Kiel, Stutts and other legislators in northwest Alabama. And so do the schools, volunteer fire departments, Extension Service, county jail and other community partners who received funding this year for projects they needed.
