Dwight Clinton Jones (born February 3, 1948) is an American politician and pastor who served as the 79th Mayor of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. 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 who served as the 80th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previou ...

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

on March 15, 2014.

Background and personal life

Jones was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and moved to

after attending

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. 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, the father of the Wright brothers, it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1946, members o ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

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

Career

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, 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 houses 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-numbe ...

(a part time position), and represented the 70th District (which included Richmond at the time) 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 Elementary

Oak 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 *
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campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dwight Clinton 1948 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Party of Virginia chairs Mayors of Richmond, Virginia African-American mayors in Virginia African-American state legislators in Virginia Virginia Union University alumni Politicians from Philadelphia United Theological Seminary alumni Baptists from Virginia 21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Virginia 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly