Vernon Jones
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Vernon Jones (Born 31 October 1960) is a United States Democratic Party politician from Georgia currently serving as CEO of DeKalb County. On 23 March 2007 Jones announced that he was running for the United States Senate against incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss.
Vernon Jones was born on October 31, 1960, in rural North Carolina. From there he went on to attend North Carolina Central University in Durham, earning a B.A. in business administration in 1983. Jones would later graduate from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government's Executive Program.
Jones began his career working in the telecommunications industry, first with WorldCom and later with BellSouth Corporation, where he was part of a team that established wireless communications in Montevideo, Uruguay. Always interested in public policy issues, Jones sought election to the Georgia House of Representatives where he served for eight years, from 1993 to 2001.
After leaving the Georgia House of Representatives, Jones remained active in politics. Currently he serves as the CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia, a position in which he oversees the Board of Commissioners of the county. He is also responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of a 7,000-employee civic workforce and a $2.6 billion budget within the state's second most populous county. He has the honor of being the youngest person to hold this position. Since being elected, Jones has been active in purchasing land for the county to be used as parks, as well as a landmark initiative requiring all senior county employees to disclose financial information to prevent any conflicts of interest. Jones is currently working to significantly boost economic growth within DeKalb County.
Outside of the office, Jones is active in a number of community and civic organizations, including the Advocates for Seniors; New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia; Youth Prevention Services; and the National Black M.B.A. Association. He is also a founding member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Stone Mountain Alumni Chapter.
