Venton Jones

American politician
Venton Jones
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 100th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 10, 2023
Preceded byJasmine Crockett
Personal details
Born
Venton C. Jones, Jr.

Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
Alma materTexas A&M University (BS)
University of Texas at Arlington (MS)
Known forPrevention of HIV/AIDS

Venton C. Jones, Jr is an American politician and non-profit CEO. Known for his advocacy for black gay men and those with HIV, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2022 to represent HD 100 in central Dallas County. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones is the first HIV-positive member of the Texas Legislature.[2]

Early life and education

Jones was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health at Texas A&M University and his Master of Science degree in Health Care Administration form the University of Texas at Arlington.

Career

After graduating, Jones worked as the Dallas team leader for United Black Ellument, an HIV prevention and intervention project. In 2010, Jones began to work as the communications and education director at the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition. A year later, in 2011, President Obama officially recognized him for his efforts in HIV and public health advocacy.[3]

Texas House of Representatives

Jones launched his campaign for the Texas House after incumbent state legislator Jasmine Crockett announced that she would not seek reelection and run for Congress. In March, 2022, Jones defeated Daniel Clayton and Marquis Hawkins in the Democratic primary election along with Sandra Crenshaw. In May 2022, Jones defeated Crenshaw in the Democratic runoff election. In November 2022, Jones defeated Joe Roberts in the general election, winning 85 percent of the votes. He assumed office in 2023. During his first term in office, Jones authored 16 pieces of legislation,[4] co-authored 63,[5] and joint-authored 36.[4]

In June 2023, Jones announced he would be running for reelection.[6]

Committee assignments

Jones serves on the Texas House of Representatives' Corrections Committee, and Public Health Committee.[7]

Personal life

Soon after graduating university in 2006, Jones went on to graduate school.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Meet Venton". VentonFor100. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "The First HIV-Positive Texas House Member". YouTube. VICE News. August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Justice For All". POZ. 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  4. ^ a b "Texas Legislature Online - Report". capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  5. ^ "Texas Legislature Online - Report". capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  6. ^ Jones, Venton [@VentonJonesTX] (June 21, 2023). "Happy to announce that I am running for Re-Election!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 22, 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
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88th Texas Legislature (2023)
Speaker of the House
Dade Phelan (R)
Speaker pro tempore
Charlie Geren (R)
  1. Gary VanDeaver (R)
  2. Jill Dutton (R)
  3. Cecil Bell Jr. (R)
  4. Keith Bell (R)
  5. Cole Hefner (R)
  6. Matt Schaefer (R)
  7. Jay Dean (R)
  8. Cody Harris (R)
  9. Trent Ashby (R)
  10. Brian Harrison (R)
  11. Travis Clardy (R)
  12. Kyle Kacal (R)
  13. Angelia Orr (R)
  14. John N. Raney (R)
  15. Steve Toth (R)
  16. Will Metcalf (R)
  17. Stan Gerdes (R)
  18. Ernest Bailes (R)
  19. Ellen Troxclair (R)
  20. Terry Wilson (R)
  21. Dade Phelan (R)
  22. Christian Manuel (D)
  23. Terri Leo-Wilson (R)
  24. Greg Bonnen (R)
  25. Cody Vasut (R)
  26. Jacey Jetton (R)
  27. Ron Reynolds (D)
  28. Gary Gates (R)
  29. Ed Thompson (R)
  30. Geanie Morrison (R)
  31. Ryan Guillen (R)
  32. Todd Ames Hunter (R)
  33. Justin Holland (R)
  34. Abel Herrero (D)
  35. Oscar Longoria (D)
  36. Sergio Muñoz Jr. (D)
  37. Janie Lopez (R)
  38. Erin Gamez (D)
  39. Armando Martinez (D)
  40. Terry Canales (D)
  41. Robert Guerra (D)
  42. Richard Raymond (D)
  43. J. M. Lozano (R)
  44. John Kuempel (R)
  45. Erin Zwiener (D)
  46. Sheryl Cole (D)
  47. Vikki Goodwin (D)
  48. Donna Howard (D)
  49. Gina Hinojosa (D)
  50. James Talarico (D)
  51. Lulu Flores (D)
  52. Caroline Harris (R)
  53. Andrew Murr (R)
  54. Brad Buckley (R)
  55. Hugh Shine (R)
  56. Charles Anderson (R)
  57. Richard Hayes (R)
  58. DeWayne Burns (R)
  59. Shelby Slawson (R)
  60. Glenn Rogers (R)
  61. Frederick Frazier (R)
  62. Reggie Smith (R)
  63. Ben Bumgarner (R)
  64. Lynn Stucky (R)
  65. Kronda Thimesch (R)
  66. Matt Shaheen (R)
  67. Jeff Leach (R)
  68. David Spiller (R)
  69. James Frank (R)
  70. Mihaela Plesa (D)
  71. Stan Lambert (R)
  72. Drew Darby (R)
  73. Carrie Isaac (R)
  74. Eddie Morales (D)
  75. Mary González (D)
  76. Suleman Lalani (D)
  77. Evelina Ortega (D)
  78. Joe Moody (D)
  79. Claudia Ordaz (D)
  80. Tracy King (D)
  81. Brooks Landgraf (R)
  82. Tom Craddick (R)
  83. Dustin Burrows (R)
  84. Carl Tepper (R)
  85. Stan Kitzman (R)
  86. John T. Smithee (R)
  87. Four Price (R)
  88. Ken King (R)
  89. Candy Noble (R)
  90. Ramon Romero Jr. (D)
  91. Stephanie Klick (R)
  92. Salman Bhojani (D)
  93. Nate Schatzline (R)
  94. Tony Tinderholt (R)
  95. Nicole Collier (D)
  96. David Cook (R)
  97. Craig Goldman (R)
  98. Giovanni Capriglione (R)
  99. Charlie Geren (R)
  100. Venton Jones (D)
  101. Chris Turner (D)
  102. Ana-Maria Ramos (D)
  103. Rafael Anchía (D)
  104. Jessica González (D)
  105. Terry Meza (D)
  106. Jared Patterson (R)
  107. Victoria Neave (D)
  108. Morgan Meyer (R)
  109. Carl O. Sherman (D)
  110. Toni Rose (D)
  111. Yvonne Davis (D)
  112. Angie Chen Button (R)
  113. Rhetta Bowers (D)
  114. John Bryant (D)
  115. Julie Johnson (D)
  116. Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
  117. Philip Cortez (D)
  118. John Lujan (R)
  119. Elizabeth Campos (D)
  120. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D)
  121. Steve Allison (R)
  122. Mark Dorazio (R)
  123. Diego Bernal (D)
  124. Josey Garcia (D)
  125. Ray Lopez (D)
  126. Sam Harless (R)
  127. Charles Cunningham (R)
  128. Briscoe Cain (R)
  129. Dennis Paul (R)
  130. Tom Oliverson (R)
  131. Alma Allen (D)
  132. Mike Schofield (R)
  133. Mano DeAyala (R)
  134. Ann Johnson (D)
  135. Jon Rosenthal (D)
  136. John Bucy III (D)
  137. Gene Wu (D)
  138. Lacey Hull (R)
  139. Jarvis Johnson (D)
  140. Armando Walle (D)
  141. Senfronia Thompson (D)
  142. Harold Dutton Jr. (D)
  143. Ana Hernandez (D)
  144. Mary Ann Perez (D)
  145. Christina Morales (D)
  146. Shawn Thierry (D)
  147. Jolanda Jones (D)
  148. Penny Morales Shaw (D)
  149. Hubert Vo (D)
  150. Valoree Swanson (R)
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