County Commissioner Al Jones’ Wife Runs For His Old City Seat
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Wives taking over from their politician husbands are a long tradition.
Lurleen Wallace took over as Alabama governor from George Wallace.
Mary Bono inherited Sonny Bono’s seat in Congress after he was killed in a skiing accident.
Liddy Boggs went to the U. S. House after House Majority Leader Hale Boggs died.
Now Carolyn Jones wants to follow in their footsteps…on a smaller scale.
Mrs. Jones became a candidate today for the Dania Beach Commission. She’s running for the same seat that husband Al Jones had to give up when he was appointed recently to the Broward County commission.
“As Broward’s oldest city, we have a lot of tradition to be proud of. I would be honored to represent the people of Dania Beach and will work towards unifying our city, preserving and maintaining its unique atmosphere, promoting smart redevelopment and standing strong against the South Runway Expansion. When elected, I will also ensure tight fiscal control of our budget through efficiency and transparency in all city government, noted Mrs. Jones in a news release.
The Dania Beach General Election will be held April 13, 2010.
The news release continues:
“Carolyn and her husband, County Commissioner Al Jones, have lived in Dania for 33 years. They have one daughter, Ali.
Mrs. Jones has served as an educator in Broward County public schools for more than 37 years. She has a Business in Science degree in Sociology from Florida A & M, as well as a Masters degree from Nova Southeastern in Education, with a specialization in Gifted Education.
She serves as a Trustee on the Dania Beach Police and Fire Pension Board. She is also Secretary for St. Ruth’s Missionary Baptist Church and her community homeowners association in College Gardens.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
I thought Al said he was moving to County Commission District Number 9, of which no part is within the corporate limits of Broward’s oldest City…Is Al going to live in a separate house from his wife?
FROM BUDDY: He did say that which makes this is a very interesting question. It is a question that Dania Beach voters should ask Mrs. Jones.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Where will the Jones’ live on April 13th? How can one serve the best interests of District 9 on the County Commission and also serve on the South Broward Hospital District when they are two different districts? Further, how can his spouse serve the residents of Dania Beach when it is unknown as to where they will reside as a couple. The Dania Beach seat was vacated by Albert Jones with an estimated unbudgeted cost of $90,000 to the taxpayers of Dania Beach and asked his fellow Republican Charlie Chirst to appoint him to serve on the County Commission knowing very well that he did not wish to move into District 9. He further requested to stay on the South Broward Hospital District, a totally different boundary and further has not moved into District 9 he took an oath to represent. Now, he wants his wife, who is unqualified, to fill the remaining term and collect additional taxpayer dollars? One of his first votes on the county commission was against the airport expansion, which District 9 has supported, because of the jobs and economic revitalization it will create, yet he voted against his constituents. Albert Jones knows he will not win the re-election for District 9 against Carlton Moore and once he loses that race in November, he will be crawling back to Dania Beach, it is clear that the Jones’ are all about the Jones.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Who cares?
Lois Wexler and other commissioners don’t live in their districts. The sentinel did a story on it a few years back with a very unflattering shot of her picking up their paper in the AM.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:12 am
That is going to be a problem and both Al and Carolyn should settle that question TODAY.
It serves neither of them to be waiting to resolve that most obvious question.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:29 am
dis blog really suck
January 7th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Crist has done it again finding an appointee who not only isn’t qualified and is violating the law, just like Rothstein. Crist couldn’t find any black that lives in Fort Lauderdale or Pompano Beach???? Al Jones doesn’t live in his district and that is the end of the story. If commissioners aren’t required to live in their districts, we should go back to running every commissioner countywide.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Regarding al Jones’ serving legally… an APPOINTED commissioner does not have to live in the district (Jim Scott replacing Scott Cowan, 2001), he has to live in the district to be elected.
Carolyn Jones has already clarified her position. She designed her home and has lived it it for 30 years. She is not going anywhere.
Could at least onee person making an issue of this please post their real name??
January 7th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
It is a pity that this world has so many haters. Carolyn Jones is more than qualified to take the Dania seat. An educator with an outstanding resume who can read comprehend and critically think.It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to be a commissioner. Think of those who have served. Just common sense and putting “people” first. By the way, where do the Dukes live?
January 7th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I like both Al and Carolyn Jones. This isn’t about liking or not liking them, it is about whether they will conduct themselves legally if elected.
The question is a simple one and very relevant. Are they going to continue living together or not?
If the answer is yes, then one of them if elected will be breaking the law.
If the answer is no, residents and the press will hound them, hiding in bushes and unmarked cars, with cameras, watching their every move until that hard to believe fact to be proven true.
We are entitled to know which situation it’s going to be before we elect either person. Why haven’t either of them made a statement to make their intentions plain?
January 7th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
@ Residency Requirements
@ cares about dania beach (sic)
@ County Mountie
This post is about Carolyn Jones and NOT Al Jones.
What does where Al Jones lives have to do with Carolyn Jones’s residence?
Carolyn has lived at 677 SW 3rd St in Dania beach for over 30 years and has indicated that she will continue to live at that address!
This is the typical mudslinging crap probably festered by the backbiting Lisa Young…wife of barely elected Dania Beach Commissioner Walter Duke and CAMPAIGN MANAGER of Bobbie Grace.
Lisa Young…wife of barely elected Dania beach Commissioner Walter Duke personally recruited Bobbie Grace to run so Duke could maybe have at least ONE person vote with him on the commission. He’s been very lonely there (4-1) since barely winning office by just over 100 votes.
Perennial candidate Bobbie Grace, just fresh off LOSING her last bid for Dania Beach Commissioner, has sealed her fate again by hiring Lisa Young.
Once again, this post is about Carolyn Jones and Buddy was not only very complimentary towards her with his copy, but accurate as well.
I predict Grace will lose….again.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Too much interest in the Joneses-Jealously leave them alone they are not saying or doing anything to you rugrats.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:52 am
I meant post your own name. I’d love to claim credit for post #8, but it wasn’t me…
January 8th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Because their MARRIED you idiots. That’s why the question is being asked. Al and Carolyn Jones are married. They must each live in their own districts in order to legally hold office. Those two districts don’t overlap. So, for both of them to be elected, they can’t live together.
What’s wrong with you people? They absolutely have to answer for that. It is the law and their failure to say anything is HIGHLY irresponsible since they are both running for their respective public offices. Do they intend to break the law or abide by it.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
# Bob Adams says:
January 7th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Regarding al Jones’ serving legally… an APPOINTED commissioner does not have to live in the district (Jim Scott replacing “Scott Cowan, 2001), he has to live in the district to be elected.
Carolyn Jones has already clarified her position. She designed her home and has lived it it for 30 years. She is not going anywhere.
Could at least onee person making an issue of this please post their real name??”
FROM BUDDY: You are right. The county commissioner does not have to live in the district to be appointed. The commissioner has to live in the district when they take office.
However, this law has been ignored by some commissioners in the past. The Sun-Sentinel had a picture on its front page of Lois Wexler coming out of a house in the a.m. that was outside of her district. Ben Graber lived in Fort Lauderdale, but his district was in northwest Broward.
Commissioners do nothing about these obviously violations of law.
You are right about Jim Scott, who was appointed to replace Cowan. Scott lived in Fort Lauderdale and not Cowan’s southwest Broward district. But the district was recut and Scott lived in the district later in his commission career.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:56 am
If you ignore all the mudslinging and back-stabbing and simply study the facts, then use your innate intelligence, and apply just a touch of common sense … it is irrefutable that Carolyn Jones is THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE FOR THE POSITION! Vote with your head – not the rumormill.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:57 am
f you ignore all the mudslinging and back-stabbing and simply study the facts, then use your innate intelligence, and apply just a touch of common sense … it is irrefutable that Carolyn Jones is the most qualified candidate for the position! Vote with your head – not the rumormill.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
At least, there will be no racist issue as both are black!
Can we subject both candidates -Jones and Grace to lie detector test to see who will actually do the work?
I’ll probably will not vote anymore! I’m so tired of politicians – all they care is what goes in their pocket, what incentives they can get from the job and if they can get free stuff from being elected as officials!