Dwight Clinton Jones (born February 3, 1948) is an American politician and pastor who served as the 79th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia. Jones took office on January 1, 2009, was inaugurated for his second term on January 12, 2013, and was succeeded by

Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, the youngest membe ...

on December 31, 2016. Jones is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and was elected chairman of the

Democratic Party of Virginia The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia. Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, the ...

on March 15, 2014.

Background and personal life

Jones was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and moved to Richmond, Virginia after attending

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

, which awarded him Master of Divinity degree (1973), and earlier a Bachelor of Science degree (1970). He earned his Doctorate from

United Theological Seminary United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. Founded in 1871 by Milton Wright (father of the Wright brothers), it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1946, members ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. He is married and has three children, Dwight, Derik, and Nichole.

Career

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, Jones is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Richmond.

Political career

Jones served as a member of the Richmond City School Board in 1979, and as its chairman from 1982-1985. In 1993, Jones was elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

(a part time position), and represented the 70th District (which includes Richmond) from 1994 until declining to seek re-election in 2008.

Mayor of Richmond

Jones took office as Richmond's 79th mayor on January 1, 2009. During his tenure, four new schools were built
Broad Rock ElementaryOak Grove-Bellemeade ElementaryMartin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
an
Huguenot High School
which is the first high school built in the City of Richmond in 40 years. Other new public works included a new fire station (Fire Station 17) completed in 2012, which was the first built by the City of Richmond in 18 years. It replaced a fire station built in 1917, which was designed for horse-drawn equipment. A new Richmond City Jail was also built, and opened in July 2014 under capacity. The replaced jail (built in the 1960s), had multiple overcrowding, maintenance and safety issues. During his last year in office, several agencies investigated the relationship between Jones' church (building a new structure in Chesterfield County) and the Richmond Department of Public Works and other agencies, particularly as about 10% of city employees were members of his congregation, but after the election, Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney, Mike Herring, issued a report detailing laxities but declining to prosecute. Immediately before leaving office, Jones authorized significant severance packages for four high-level appointees.

Notes

References

Virginia House of Delegates: Bio for Dwight Clinton Jones (2008 session)

External links

First Baptist Church of South Richmond
*
Project Vote Smart - Representative Dwight Clinton Jones (VA)
profile * ''Follow the Money'' - Dwight C Jones *
2005200320011999
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dwight Clinton 1948 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Mayors of Richmond, Virginia African-American mayors in Virginia African-American state legislators in Virginia Virginia Union University alumni Baptist ministers from the United States Politicians from Philadelphia United Theological Seminary alumni 21st-century American politicians Baptists from Virginia 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people