Brenda Jones (politician) – Wikipedia

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American politician from Michigan

Brenda Jones
Brenda Jones congressional photo 1 (cropped).jpg
In office
January 1, 2014 – January 1, 2022
Preceded by Saunteel Jenkins
Succeeded by Mary Sheffield
In office
January 1, 2014 – January 1, 2022
Preceded by Kenneth Cockrel Jr.
In office
November 6, 2018 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by John Conyers
Succeeded by Rashida Tlaib
In office
January 3, 2006 – January 1, 2014
Born (1959-10-24) October 24, 1959 (age 63)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education Wayne State University (BA, Graduate certificate)
Signature
Website Government website

Brenda B. Jones (born October 24, 1959) is an American politician who served as a member of the Detroit City Council from 2006 to 2022, and as the president of the City Council from 2014 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones also briefly served as the U.S. representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district from November 29, 2018 to January 3, 2019. She won the 2018 special election to succeed John Conyers following his resignation in December 2017, and was succeeded by Rashida Tlaib. She ran for the seat again in 2020, losing the Democratic primary to Tlaib by a wide margin.

Early life[edit]

Brenda B. Jones was born on October 24, 1959, in Birmingham, Alabama, and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, during the Great Migration. She attended public schools in Detroit, where she graduated from Cass Technical High School and later received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Wayne State University.[1] She also earned a Graduate certificate from Wayne State University.[2]
Jones worked for Michigan Bell and was later elected as a union president of the Communications Workers of America Local 4004 in Detroit. She was appointed as an executive on the boards of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Detroit Transportation Commission.[3]

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Politics[edit]

Detroit City Council[edit]

In 2005, Jones was elected to the Detroit City Council after placing ninth in the general election where nine seats were available and was reelected in 2009, 2013, and 2017.[4] In 2015, the council voted for her to serve as the President of the Detroit City Council with five voting in favor of her and four voting in favor of incumbent President Saunteel Jenkins.[5]

Jones has said that she will not be seeking reelection in 2021.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives[edit]

Elections[edit]

2018–2019[edit]

On December 5, 2017, Representative John Conyers resigned after sexual harassment allegations were made against him and that he had secretly used taxpayer money to settle a harassment claim. A special election was called to replace Conyers and Jones narrowly won the Democratic primary for the special election–the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. No Republican qualified to run, though any Republican challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds. Conyers had held the seat since 1965 (it had been numbered as the 1st from 1965 to 1993 and as the 14th from 1993 to 2013), and his lowest winning percentage was 77 percent.

However, in the Democratic primary for the general election, Jones was defeated by former state representative Rashida Tlaib. Prior to the general election, Jones filed to run as an independent write-in candidate, prompting criticism.[7][8]

During the course of the election campaign, questions arose as to whether Jones could serve in her Detroit City Council post concurrently with serving in Congress, an unprecedented situation up to that point.[9][10] An opinion by the Detroit Corporation Counsel, written in August 2018, stated that it was likely possible for Jones to legally serve in both capacities based on state law. The Counsel advised that the United States House Committee on Ethics be consulted to clarify federal and House rules.[11]

In the November 6 special election, Jones won with 86.8 percent of the vote, facing only a Taxpayers Party candidate as opposition. On the same day, she received 633 votes in the regular election for a full two-year term.

Speaker Paul Ryan delayed swearing Jones in until November 29, after receiving guidance from the House Ethics Committee on how Jones could minimize conflicts of interest.[12] She introduced two bills and cast 77 votes during her five-week tenure in the House of Representatives.[13]

2020[edit]

On March 25, 2020, Jones filed to run again in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th congressional district against Tlaib.[14] Tlaib was considered possibly vulnerable to a primary challenge, due to her status as a democratic socialist, divisive rhetoric and attacks made on many popular national Democrats. For example, Tlaib booed former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton.[15] However, Jones’ campaign was wracked by allegations of financial misconduct.[16][17] On April 2, Jones announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19.[18] Jones decisively lost the primary election to Tlaib 66%-34% on August 4. The margin of Jones’s loss was considered to be large.[19][17]

Electoral history[edit]

Brenda Jones electoral history

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Detroit council candidates sound off on blight, neighborhoods vs. downtown focus”. August 1, 2017. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020.
  2. ^ “JONES, Brenda | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives”.
  3. ^ “Detroit City Council head seeks Conyers’ Congress seat”. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020.
  4. ^ “City Council: Important chance for change”. Detroit Free Press. November 10, 2005. p. 14. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Gottlieb, Bryan (April 2, 2020). “Detroit City Council Elects New President”. Metro Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Ikonomova, Violet (January 5, 2021). “Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones says she won’t seek re-election — but don’t count her out yet”. deadlinedetroit.com. Deadline Detroit. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Ferretti, Christine; Burke, Melissa Nann (October 29, 2018). “Jones riles Democrats with independent run”. Detroit News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Samilton, Tracy (October 31, 2018). “Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones’ unwelcome announcement”. Michigan Radio. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann (October 23, 2018). “Lack of precedent clouds Brenda Jones’ bid for Conyers seat”. The Detroit News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  10. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann & Ferretti, Christine (November 7, 2018). “Tlaib urges Jones to say if she’ll leave city post for partial term”. The Detroit News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Stafford, Kat (August 13, 2018). “Detroit: Brenda Jones can hold John Conyers’, council seat”. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  12. ^ Melissa Nann Burke (November 29, 2018). “Jones sworn into Congress after deal reached”. The Detroit News. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  13. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann (January 1, 2019). “The 5-week congresswoman: Brenda Jones exiting House”. Detroit News. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann (March 25, 2020). “Brenda Jones running for Congress again in challenge to Tlaib”. Detroit News. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  15. ^ “Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib boos Hillary Clinton at Sanders campaign event in Iowa”. CNN.
  16. ^ Cunningham-Cook, Matthew (May 28, 2020). “Tlaib Opponent Brenda Jones Collected Campaign Contributions From Quicken Loans Executives As Public Subsidies Flowed”. The Intercept. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Broadwater, Luke (August 5, 2020). “Rashida Tlaib Cruises to Victory in a Primary Rematch”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  18. ^ Guillen, Joe (April 2, 2020). “Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones tests positive for coronavirus”. Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020.
  19. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann (August 4, 2020). “Tlaib wins rematch with Jones in Michigan’s 13th District”. Detroit News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ “2005 Detroit City Council primary”. December 5, 2014.
  21. ^ “2005 Detroit City Council election”. March 25, 2008.
  22. ^ “2013 Detroit City Council at-large primary”. August 7, 2013.
  23. ^ “2013 Detroit City Council at-large election”. December 8, 2014.
  24. ^ “2017 Detroit City Council at-large primary”. October 14, 2017.
  25. ^ “2017 Detroit City Council at-large election”. April 6, 2018.
  26. ^ “2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district special Democratic primary”. May 14, 2019.
  27. ^ “2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district Democratic primary”. May 14, 2019.
  28. ^ “2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district special election”. April 22, 2019.
  29. ^ “2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district election”. November 26, 2018.

External links[edit]


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