Mike Jones (Pennsylvania politician) explained

Mike Jones
State House1:Pennsylvania
District1:93rd
Term Start1:January 1, 2019[1]
Predecessor1:Kristin Phillips-Hill
Birth Place:York County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Party:Republican
Alma Mater:Dallastown Area High School
Education:DeVry University (BS)
Children:4 (adopted)

Paul Michael Jones[2] (born [3]) is an American politician presently a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, Jones has represented the 93rd District since 2019.

Early life and education

Jones was born in York County, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Dallastown. He graduated from Dallastown Area High School in 1987, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electronic engineering technology from DeVry University in 1991.[4]

Business career

In 1994, Jones began working for St. Onge, a supply chain logistics company based in York, Pennsylvania.[5] He was named president of the company in 2006. Jones served as president of St. Onge until his retirement in 2017.[6]

Political career

Jones served briefly served on the board of the Dallastown Area School District, having been elected in 2017,[7] and resigning in 2019. His resignation came after he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018. Jones believed serving on both the school board and in the State House would constitute a conflict of interest.[8]

Jones was first elected to represent the 93rd District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018, winning re-election in 2020 and 2022.[9]

In 2020, Jones founded the Economic Growth Caucus, made up of state representatives with backgrounds in business, Jones defined the group's purpose as promoting economic growth. Upon its founding Jones was made chairman of the caucus.[10]

Jones opposed mitigation and lockdown measures imposed by Governor Tom Wolf during the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed the economic impact of shutting down businesses to combat the spread of COVID would be "killing and devastating more lives than COVID ever will."[11] He participated in the "Reopen Pennsylvania" rally outside the state capitol building, where protestors demanded Governor Wolf repeal lockdowns measures.[12] [13]

In 2020, Jones was among 26 Pennsylvania House Republicans who called for the reversal of Joe Biden's certification as the winner of Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 United States presidential election, citing false claims of election irregularities.[14]

In 2022, Republican leadership removed Jones from three of his four committee assignments after he endorsed Joe D'Orsie and Wendy Fink in their primary challenges against incumbent Representatives Keith Gillespie and Stan Saylor, respectively. Jones said his decision to endorse the two challengers wasn't personal but "business" because Gillespie and Saylor didn't oppose COVID shutdowns. In response to his support for D'Orsie and Fink, the York County Republican Committee attempted to censure Jones. The censure vote reportedly failed, according to Jones.[15] Both D'Orsie and Fink were successful in defeating the incumbent representatives.[16]

Jones became a founding member of the Pennsylvania State Freedom Caucus in late 2022 alongside twenty-two other Republicans in the State House.[17]

Personal life

Jones married his wife Julie (née Anderson) in 1992. The couple have four adoptive children from Russia.

Electoral history

|-! style="background-color: #800080; width: 8px;" || style="width: 130px" | Democratic/Republican[18] | | Michael Jones| align="right" | 1,697| align="right" | 98.95|-

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SESSION OF 2019 - 203D OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1. Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives . 2019-01-01.
  2. Web site: 2022 General Election Tuesday, November 8, 2022 Official Returns YORK . Pennsylvania Department pf State . electionreturns.pa.gov . 22 January 2023.
  3. News: Boeckel . Teresa . Election 2022: Your guide to the 93rd state House race . 27 March 2023 . . October 6, 2022.
  4. Web site: Representative Mike Jones . Pennsylvania House of Representatives . Pennsylvania General Assembly . 22 January 2023.
  5. Web site: About Mike . Jones For PA . https://web.archive.org/web/20230122174023/https://www.jonesforpa.com/bio . January 22, 2023 . 22 January 2023.
  6. Web site: Mike Jones BIO . PA State Rep. Mike Jones. PA House Republican Caucus. January 22, 2022.
  7. Web site: 2017 General Election Results . York County, Pennsylvania . 22 January 2023.
  8. News: VanAsdalan . Lindsay C. . State Rep. Mike Jones resigns from Dallastown school board . 22 January 2023 . York Dispatch . September 23, 2019.
  9. Web site: Mike Jones . Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives . 22 January 2023.
  10. News: Jones . Mike . The business of Pennsylvania’s future . 22 January 2023 . York Daily Record . March 3, 2020.
  11. News: Fisher . Scott . 'We got Wolf on the ropes,' Rep. Mike Jones tells a crowd of 150+ maskless people in Wisehaven . 22 January 2023 . York Daily Record . May 11, 2020.
  12. News: Jones . Mike . Opinion Why I joined the reopening protests . subscription . 22 January 2023 . The Washington Post . April 21, 2020.
  13. News: Strong . Kim . 'Wolf works for us!': protesters chant at rally to reopen Pennsylvania's economy . 22 January 2023 . York Daily Record . April 21, 2020.
  14. News: Murphy . Jan . Jan Murphy . 26 Pa. House Republicans call for withdrawing certification of presidential electors . . 27 November 2020 . en.
  15. News: Assaf . Kaity . Mike Jones makes GOP waves endorsing challengers to longtime incumbents Saylor, Gillespie . 15 March 2023 . York Daily Record . May 11, 2022.
  16. News: Owens . Dennis . Stockburger . George . Pa. legislator stripped of committee seats after endorsing GOP incumbent challengers . 22 January 2023 . abc27 WHTM . Nexstar Media Inc. . May 26, 2022.
  17. News: Enright . Matt . What can we expect from Pa.'s new House Freedom Caucus? . 11 December 2022 . York Dispatch . December 8, 2022.
  18. News: DeJesus . Ivey . Election results for school board races in York County: Live updates . 22 January 2023 . PennLIVE Patriot-News . Advance Local Media LLC . November 8, 2017.