Samuel Leon Jones (born April 14, 1947) is an American politician who currently represents District 99 in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

. Jones was the first African-American mayor of

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, serving from September 2005 until August 2013. He ran on a platform of safety, efficient government,

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

and bringing new employers to the city. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Jones is a graduate of Central High School and attended Florida Junior College and

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, Florida.

Career

Jones served for nine years in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, where he served aboard the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

USS ''Forrestal''. While there, his commanding officer was

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, future senator from Arizona and presidential candidate. After leaving the navy, Jones worked as the executive director of Mobile Community Action, Inc. from 1980 until 1987. Getting involved in politics through the Democratic Party, he was elected to four terms as a

Mobile County Mobile County ( ) is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson and Madison counties. As of the 2020 census, its population was 414,809. Its co ...

Commissioner. In September 2005 he ran for Mayor of Mobile and was elected. He was the first African-American Mayor of Mobile, Alabama. He served two four-year terms, winning re-election in 2009. On August 27, 2013, Jones was defeated by Sandy Stimpson in the 2013 mayoral election. On October 29, 2013, the Mobile City Council unanimously voted to pass a resolution to rename Mobile Government Plaza the Samuel L. Jones Government Plaza for his service to the city. Official renaming of the building is pending approval by the Mobile County Commission. In 2018, Jones was elected to the

, representing District 99.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sam Living people African-American mayors in Alabama African-American state legislators in Alabama County commissioners in Alabama Jacksonville University alumni United States Navy sailors Mayors of Mobile, Alabama Alabama Democrats Military personnel from Mobile, Alabama 1947 births 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians African-American United States Navy personnel 21st-century members of the Alabama Legislature