| Phillip Jones | |
| Order: | 27th |
| Office: | List of mayors of Newport News, VirginiaMayor of Newport News, Virginia |
| Predecessor: | McKinley L. Price |
| Birth Date: | 19 September 1989 |
| Partner: | Jamila Wynter, M.D. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Alma Mater: | United States Naval Academy, Harvard University |
| Occupation: | Politician, Consultant, Marine |
| Website: | https://phillipjones.com |
| Serviceyears: | 2012 - 2018 (Active), 2018 - present (Reserves) |
| Rank: | Major |
Phillip Damon Jones (born September 19, 1989) is an American politician and the current mayor of Newport News, Virginia.[1] He is the 27th and youngest directly elected mayor of the Virginia city.[2]
Jones was born on September 19, 1989, at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan.[3] His father, Daryl Jones, was an F-15 pilot, and his mother, Martha Stevenson-Jones was a KC-135 navigator in the United States Air Force.[4] When Jones was a teenager, the family moved to Hampton Roads, Virginia. He graduated from Hampton Christian Academy in 2008.[5] Jones attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on a vice presidential nomination.[6] In 2012, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in history and a commission in the United States Marine Corps.[7]
Jones served six years as a Marine Corps infantry officer with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. He currently serves as a Major in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.[8]
After leaving the military, Jones attended Harvard University, receiving a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School.[9] After graduate school, Jones joined Bain & Company, focusing on social impact and public sector strategy.[10]
Jones was elected to office on Nov 8, 2022, winning 40% of the vote over three members of the city council.[11] During his election, he was endorsed by Governor Terry McAuliffe and State Senator Mamie Locke.Prior to becoming mayor, Jones was a member of the Newport News Planning Commission for two years. He was sworn into office on January 10, 2023.[12]
Prior to his official first day in office, Jones was invited to the White House as part of a bi-partisan group of newly elected mayors.[13] There he met with President Joe Biden and members of the Biden-Harris Administration, including Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
On January 6, 2023, a six-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, while inside their classroom.[14] The shooting was the first school shooting of 2023 and prompted major discussions around gun control and violence in the United States.[15] (The shooting occurred four days before Jones was sworn in.) During a press conference updating reporters, Jones called the incident a “red flag for the country.”[16]
In July 2023, Jones was selected as one of 40 mayors from around the world and 27 United States Mayors for the seventh class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.[17]
Vice President Kamala Harris began her "Fight For Our Freedoms" college tour with a stop at Hampton University and was greeted at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport by Jones.[18]
During Jones' first year in office, the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, also known as Jefferson Lab, was chosen to manage a national project for centralizing research data.[19] In collaboration with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, the High Performance Data Facility Hub will have its main infrastructure reside at Jefferson Lab.[20]
“The city has been committed to supporting Jefferson Lab’s robust educational and scientific offerings since 1985,” Jones said at an event announcing the news. "We have directly invested more than $64 million to ensure Jefferson Lab’s success and growth.”[21]
On June 1, 2023, Jones officially recognized June as Pride Month and announced the city's first Pride festival.[22]
Jones is a member of the Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ) fraternity. He is married to Jamila Wynter, M.D.[23]