Gordon Douglas Jones (born May 4, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Alabama since January 3, 2018.
A former federal prosecutor, Jones represented the Northern District of Alabama from 1997 to 2001. During his tenure, Jones prosecuted two Ku Klux Klan perpetrators of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four African American girls. Additionally, he secured an indictment against Eric Rudolph, a terrorist responsible for four politically-motivated attacks, including the Atlanta Olympic Park bombing.
Jones announced his candidacy in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Claiming to represent "New Alabama", Jones defeated his six opponents in the Democratic primary election, and faced former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in the general election, held December 12, 2017. In an upset victory, Jones defeated Moore, winning the election with roughly 50% of the vote.
Jones is the first Democrat to win a United States Senate election in Alabama since Richard Shelby, who was elected as a Democrat in 1986 and 1992 before switching to the Republican Party in 1994, and the first Democrat elected statewide in Alabama since 2008. Upon his ascension to office, Jones became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the United States Senate since Howell Heflin's retirement in 1997.
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Early life and education
Doug Jones was born in Fairfield, Alabama, to Gordon and Gloria Jones. His father worked at U.S. Steel, and his mother was a homemaker. Jones graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science in 1976, and earned his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1979.
He began his career by working as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Democratic Senator Howell Heflin from Alabama. Jones then worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1980 to 1984 before resigning to work at a private law firm in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1984 to 1997.
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U.S. Attorney
President Bill Clinton announced on August 18, 1997, his intent to appoint Jones as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and formally nominated Jones to the post on September 2, 1997. On September 8, 1997, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama appointed Jones as interim U.S. Attorney. The Senate confirmed Jones' nomination on November 8, 1997, by voice vote.
In January 1998, Eric Rudolph bombed the New Woman All Women Health Care Center in Birmingham. Jones became responsible for coordinating the state and federal task force in the aftermath, and advocated for Rudolph to be tried first in Birmingham before being extradited and tried in Georgia for his crimes in that state, such as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
16th Street Baptist Church bombing case
Jones prosecuted Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry, two members of the Ku Klux Klan, for their roles in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The case was reopened the year before Jones was appointed, but did not pick up traction until his appointment. A federal grand jury was called in 1998 which piqued the attention of Cherry's ex-wife, Willadean Cherry, and led her to call the FBI to report her testimony. Willadean then introduced Jones to family and friends who reported their own experiences from the time of the bombing. A key piece of evidence was a tape from the time of the bombing in which Blanton stated that he had plotted with others to make the bomb. Jones was deputized in order to argue in state court and was able to indict Blanton and Cherry in 2000. Blanton was found guilty in 2001, and Cherry was found guilty in 2002. Both Blanton and Cherry were sentenced to life in prison. Blanton was up for parole in 2016, at which Jones spoke in opposition to his potential release. Blanton's parole was denied. Cherry died in prison in 2004.
Later legal career
Jones left office in 2001 and returned to private practice. In 2004, he was court-appointed General Special Master in an environmental clean-up case involving Monsanto in Anniston, Alabama. In 2007 Jones was honored with the 15th Anniversary Civil Rights Distinguished Service Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Also in 2007, Jones testified before the United States House Committee on the Judiciary about the importance of re-examining crimes of the Civil Rights Era. He created the Birmingham firm Jones & Hawley, PC with longtime friend Greg Hawley in 2013. He was named one of B-Metro Magazine's Fusion Award winners in 2015. In 2017 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama chapter of the Young Democrats of America.
U.S. Senate
2017 election
On May 11, 2017, Jones announced his candidacy for that year's U.S. Senate special election, running for the seat left open when Jeff Sessions was appointed as Attorney General. Sessions, a Republican, had held the Senate seat since being elected in 1996, when Democrat Howell Heflin chose not to run for re-election, and had kept it through three re-elections. Jones won the Democratic nomination in August, and became the Senator-elect for Alabama after defeating Republican former Alabama Supreme Court judge Roy Moore in the general election on December 12, 2017.
Jones received 673,896 votes (50.0%) to Moore's 651,972 votes (48.3%) with 22,852 write-in votes (1.7%). After the election Moore refused to concede. He filed a lawsuit attempting to block the state from certifying the election and calling for an investigation into voter fraud, as well as a new election. On December 28, 2017, a judge dismissed this lawsuit and state officials certified the election results, officially declaring Jones the winner.
Tenure
Jones was sworn in on January 3, 2018, and his term will run through January 3, 2021, the remaining balance of Sessions' term. He is the state's first Democratic U.S. Senator in 25 years. Jones was one of five Democratic senators who voted for the continuing resolution that failed to pass and consequently led to the United States federal government shutdown of 2018.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
- Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management
- Special Committee on Aging
Political positions
The editorial board of The Birmingham News has described Jones as a "moderate Democrat." Former Alabama Democratic Party chair Giles Perkins described Jones as "a moderate, middle-of-the-road guy." Describing his own views, Jones said that "If you look at the positions I've got on health care, if you look at the positions I [have] got on jobs, you should look at the support I have from the business community; I think I'm pretty mainstream." Jones' campaign has emphasized "kitchen table" issues such as healthcare and the economy. He has called for bipartisan solutions to those issues, and pledged to "find common ground" between both sides of the aisle.
Civil rights
Jones supports the reversal of mandatory three-strikes laws for non-violent offenses to give judges flexibility in giving sentences. In an interview with The Birmingham News, he said that he opposes additional restrictions on abortion (such as proposals to ban abortion after the 20th week of gestation), saying current laws on the issue are sufficient. Jones has also supported same-sex marriage.
Defense
In an interview with The Birmingham News, Jones said he favored increasing defense spending, saying it would boost Alabama's local economy, particularly in the areas around NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, and would protect the United States from foreign threats.
Economy
Jones has been described as an economic populist by Newsweek. In January 2018, Senator Jones was one of five Democrats who voted for the Republican budget deal.
Healthcare
On health care, Jones opposes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but has called for changes to the U.S. health-care system, which he calls broken. He supports the re-authorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and, during his senatorial campaign, he repeatedly criticized his opponent for his lack of a clear stance on the program. Jones says he is open to the idea of a public option. In January 2018, Jones voted to confirm Trump's nominee, Alex Azar, for HHS Secretary.
Taxes
Jones has not called for tax increases; he has called for reductions in corporate taxes "to try to get reinvestment back into this country". Jones opposes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the GOP's tax plan, calling it fiscally irresponsible, and skewed to the wealthy while ignoring or hurting the middle class.
Personal life
Jones married Louise New on December 12, 1992, and they have three children. He has been a member of the Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook for more than 33 years.
Electoral history
2017
References
External links
- Senator Doug Jones official U.S. Senate website
- Doug Jones for Senate
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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