Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr. (born January 14, 1957) is an American politician who served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from 2012 to 2024. Representing the 59th district from 2012 to 2022 and the 57th district from 2022 to 2024, Jones-Sawyer was a member of the

California Legislative Black Caucus The California Legislative Black Caucus, also known as the CLBC, is a California political organization composed of African Americans elected to the California State Legislature. Priorities The California Legislative Black Caucus represents and a ...

and served as chair of the caucus from 2015 to 2016. In 2023, he announced his candidacy for the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

for the

2024 Los Angeles elections The 2024 Los Angeles elections were held on March 5, 2024. Voters will elect candidates in a nonpartisan Nonpartisan primary, primary, with Two-round system, runoff elections scheduled for November 5. Seven of the fifteen seats in the Los Ange ...

, in which he placed 5th out of five candidates in the primary.

Early life and education

Jones-Sawyer was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

on January 14, 1957. His uncle,

Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Allison Thomas (September 19, 1942 – September 5, 2010) was one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Li ...

, was one of the "Little Rock Nine" high school students. He attended and graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree degree in Public Administration.

Political career

Prior to his election to the

, Jones-Sawyer worked for the City of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, including as Director of Asset Management and Assistant Deputy Mayor. He also served as the Secretary of the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento, the state capital. With 46.59% of the state's registered voters as of February 2024, the Democratic ...

, Chair of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, Chair of the Los Angeles County Small Business Commission, and Vice President for SEIU's Local 721 within the Los Angeles Professional Managers Association. Jones-Sawyer was elected to the State Assembly in 2012, being re-elected five more times until 2022; he was twice re-elected without any opposition. In 2014, he was fined for campaign violations, admitting that he accepted campaign contributions from a friend that was over the limit of contributions. In 2021, Jones-Sawyer sought to change the statewide entry requirements for police officers with AB89, which would've required at least a bachelor's degree or at least 25 years of age before entering a

police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

. In 2023, Jones-Sawyer announced that he would be challenging appointed incumbent councilor

Heather Hutt Heather J. Hutt (born April 5, 1959) is an American politician who is currently serving as an appointed City council, councilmember representing the Los Angeles City Council District 10, 10th District of Los Angeles since April 11, 2023, previousl ...

in the

. He was eliminated in the primary. In 2023, Jones-Sawyer committee chair of Public Safety Committee, disapproved of Senate Bill 14, a bill that would include sex trafficking of a minor in the lists of crimes that are defined as serious under California law, making the crime a strike under the Three Strikes law. Jones-Sawyer said it would disproportionately affect “Black and Brown Communities.” Proponents of the bipartisan bill argued that over 70% of trafficked women in shelters are black and over 50% of children trafficked are black i.e. Figueroa St. Los Angeles. Jones-Sawyer argued, “there is no evidence that if you lock someone up for long periods of time, it helps them”. However, proponents of SB14 argued this is to protect victims and prevent repeat perpetrators from further trafficking. Jones-Sawyer is a member of the

California Legislative Progressive Caucus The California Legislative Progressive Caucus is a California political organization composed of progressive members of the California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the ...

Electoral history

References

External links

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Join California Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Sawyer, Reggie Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Living people 1957 births Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Politicians from Los Angeles African-American state legislators in California 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the California State Legislature