Life and career
Jones is a lifelong resident of the North Country,growing up on a dairy farm. [1] Following high school,Jones began work as a corrections officer with the New York Department of Corrections,where he worked for nearly twenty years. [2] Jones has one daughter. [3]
First elected to public office in 2009,Jones first served as Mayor of Chateaugay,New York for four years and was elected to the Franklin County Legislature in 2010. [4] He served as the Chairman of the legislature in from 2013 to 2016.
New York State Assembly
In 2016,Republican Assemblymember Janet Duprey announced that she would not seek re-election,opening up a possibly competitive seat. [5] Jones was recruited by the Democratic caucus,and decided ultimately to jump into the race. Facing Republican Kevin A. Mulverhill in the general election,Jones won by a 52% to 48% margin. He was the first Democrat to represent Clinton County in the state legislature in over half a century.
Jones was sworn in for his first term on January 1,2017. [6] In 2018 and 2020,Jones ran unopposed. Republican Stephen Chilton III challenged Jones in 2022 but he won the election handedly with a 63% to 37% margin. [7] Jones ran unopposed in 2024 for his fifth term.
Jones is a member of the Standing Committees on Agriculture;Economic Development,Job Creation,Commerce and Industry;Small Business;Governmental Employees;Tourism,Parks,Arts and Sports Development;and Veterans' Affairs. In 2022,he was appointed Chair of the New York Canada Relations Task Force. Since then,he has hosted members of Parliament as well as the Delegate General of Quebec in New York and the Consul General of Canada at the State Legislature in Albany. Jones also traveled to Ottawa and Montreal with members of the Task Force to meet with members of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee as well as local business leaders.
Since he was elected,Jones has prioritized education,cutting taxes,recreation,economic development,and government transparency. One of his monumental bills was the EMS Cost Recovery Act,which was originally introduced in the 1990s but Jones was able to get it across the finish line and include it in the 2022-2023 State Budget. He also pioneered the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act that created the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force.
In the Fall of 2024,Jones was listed number 56 on City &State's Upstate Power 100 List,calling him the "Assembly's Ambassador to Canada." [8] Jones has also served as the Chair for the Council of State Governments' East US-Canada Relations Committee since 2020.
In August 2025 Jones announced that he would be resigning from the New York Assembly at the end of the month to pursue a "new opportunity." [9] It was later announced that he would become a vice president of Clinton Community College. [10]
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