Stephanie Tubbs Jones

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Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Louis Stokes
Born	September 10, 1949 (1949-09-10) (age 58) Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Widowed
Religion	Baptist

Stephanie Tubbs Jones (born September 10, 1949) is a Democratic politician who currently serves as a member of the United States House of Representatives, for the 11th District of Ohio. Her district encompasses most of downtown and eastern Cleveland and many of the eastern suburbs in Cuyahoga County including Euclid, Cleveland Heights, and Shaker Heights. The first African American woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio, she is generally described as a liberal Democrat.

On December 19, 2006, Tubbs Jones was named Chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the 110th Congress. Tubbs Jones is also a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

[edit] Personal life

Born in Cleveland, Jones graduated from the city's public schools. She received her undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a degree in Social Work from the Flora Stone Mather College in 1971. In 1974, she received her J.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

On November 27, 1976, she married Mervyn L. Jones, Sr. They had a son, Mervyn Leroy Jones, II. The couple remained married for 27 years until October 2, 2003, when Jones, Sr. died. Mervyn Jones was charged with aggravated murder and robbery less than a year prior to marrying the future judge, county prosecutor, and Congresswoman. Jones pleaded guilty in 1976 to a lesser count of manslaughter and received "shock probation."^[1]

Jones is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

[edit] Early career

Jones was elected a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court in 1981, and subsequently served on the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County from 1983 to 1991.

In 1990, she ran for Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio replacing Mary Cacioppo, the winner of the Democratic Primary, who withdrew for health reasons. She narrowly lost that race to Republican incumbent J. Craig Wright^[2].

She then served as the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor from 1991 until resigning in early 1999, when she resigned to take her seat in Congress. She was succeeded as prosecutor by William D. Mason.

[edit] U.S. House of Representatives

In 1998, Jones won the Democratic nomination for the 11th District after 30-year incumbent Louis Stokes announced his retirement. This all but assured her of election in the heavily Democratic, black-majority 11th. She has been reelected four times with no substantive opposition.

Jones is a co-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Some argue her actions angered the White House and her district suffered with the loss of federal jobs. Despite representing a heavily unionized district, she has been a strong proponent of free trade. Tubbs Jones most recently took a lead role in the fight to pass the Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in November of 2007, though her efforts have not been successful as of yet.

In 2004, she served as the chairwoman of the platform committee at the Democratic National Convention and as a member of the Ohio delegation. She strongly supported Sen. John Kerry in his campaign to become President of the United States. On January 6, 2005, she joined U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in objecting to the certification of the 2004 U.S. presidential election results for Ohio.

Being the sponsor she was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 election.^[3]

In 2005, she came under fire after being named the congressperson with the fourth-highest (59) total trips sponsored by lobbyists.^{[citation needed]} She was selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi as chairperson of the House Ethics Committee to watch over the standards of ethical conduct for members of the House. Tubbs Jones is popular in her district, and is routinely reelected against nominal Republican opposition. She received 83.44% of the vote in the recent 2006 elections, against Republican Lindsey String. Tubbs Jones recently faced no opposition in the 2008 Ohio Democratic primary.

Tubbs Jones appeared on The Colbert Report's "Better Know a District" in an episode airing November 3, 2005.

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Chair)
• Ways and Means Committee
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Social Security

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of United States Representatives from Ohio
• Election Results, Ohio Supreme Court

[edit] External links

• Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones official U.S. House site
• Stephanie Tubbs Jones for Congress official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Black Biography — Stephanie Tubbs Jones bio based on a 2000 interview