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Mondaire Jones

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Mondaire Lamar Jones[1] (born May 18, 1987)[2] is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones was the U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district from 2021 to 2023.

Mondaire Jones
Member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Appointed byNancy Pelosi
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th district
In office
January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byNita Lowey
Succeeded byMike Lawler
Personal details
Born (1987-05-18) May 18, 1987 (age 37)
Nyack, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Before his 2022 defeat, Jones was described as a rising star on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.[3] He is an advocate for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.[4][5] When first elected, he became one of the two first openly gay Black members of Congress.[6]

After the 2020 redistricting cycle, he sought reelection in 2022 in New York's 10th congressional district losing the Democratic primary to attorney Dan Goldman, who went on to win the seat in the general election.[7] In July 2023, Jones announced that he would again seek election, this time in the 17th district, in 2024.[8] He won the primary but lost to incumbent Mike Lawler in the general election.

Early life and career

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Jones was born in Nyack, New York, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, where he was raised by a single mother,[9] who worked multiple jobs to support him, and his grandparents.[10][11] He graduated from public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District.[12]

Jones earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2009. After graduating from Stanford, He worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama.[13][14] He then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2013.[15][16]

After law school, Jones worked as a law clerk for Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also worked for Davis Polk & Wardwell for four years,[5] and one year with the Westchester County Law Department.[17][18]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2020

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Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 17
 
2020 election results for the U.S. House of Representative for New York's 17th district

Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to represent the 17th district, including most of central and northwestern Westchester County and all of Rockland County, against 16-term incumbent Nita Lowey. Three months after he entered the race, Lowey announced that she would not seek reelection.[18][19] He advocated for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.[4][5] He also expressed support for defunding the police.[20][21][22]

In a crowded eight-way Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—Jones defeated attorney Adam Schleifer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, State Senator David Carlucci, and State Assemblyman David Buchwald, among others, winning 42% of the vote.[23] The Associated Press called the race for Jones on July 14, 2020, three weeks after the June 23 primary, the vote tabulation having been delayed because of a large number of absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

In August, Jones filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reverse recent changes made to the United States Postal Service (USPS) that affected the agency's ability to deliver mail, including absentee ballots.[25] Jones sued Trump and DeJoy "for violating the Constitution in their attempts to undermine the United States Postal Service and thwart free and fair elections this November."[26] In September, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero granted an injunction against the USPS that required it to restore overtime and treat all mail-in ballots as first-class mail.[27][28]

In the November general election, Jones faced Republican nominee Maureen McArdle Schulman, a former FDNY firefighter, as well as several third-party candidates.[29] The Associated Press called the race for Jones the day after the election.[30] Along with Ritchie Torres from New York's 15th congressional district, Jones was one of the first gay African Americans elected to the United States House of Representatives.[13]

2022

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 10

Following redistricting, the 17th district included the residence of Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democratic incumbent in the neighboring 18th district and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[31] Jones was no longer in the court drawn 17th district. According to The Guardian, "Maloney decided to run in New York's 17th congressional district rather than his longtime, more urban, 18th district, even though that meant booting out the newer Mondaire Jones, his fellow Democrat and the incumbent congressman in the 17th district".[32] According to The Hill, Maloney's decision "infuriated Jones and his allies, particularly those in the Congressional Black Caucus, who accused Maloney of putting his own political survival over the interests of the party".[33] In 2024, City & State reported that in actuality, Maloney had privately offered to withdraw from the primary, but Jones declined Maloney's offer in order to run in another district.[34]

Jones opted not to challenge Maloney in the redrawn 17th district; instead, on May 20, 2022, he announced that he would seek election in New York's 10th congressional district.[35] He finished third in the Democratic primary in the 10th district, which was won by attorney Dan Goldman.[36] Jones received 18.2% of the vote.[37]

2024

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 17

In July 2023, Jones announced his candidacy to return to Congress, running in the 17th district after relocating to Sleepy Hollow, a village within the district's boundaries.[8][38]

After the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Jones tweeted a photo of McCarthy and Lawler meeting with Jewish leaders in Rockland County captioned "Well that was a waste of time." The post was condemned as antisemitic by Democrats Jared Moskowitz and Josh Gottheimer. Jones took down the tweet and apologized for any misunderstanding. Following the removal Moskowitz and Gottheimer took down their response and Moskowitz accepted Jones's apology and emphasized his record of opposing antisemitism.[39]

Jones's entry into the race solidified his position as the Democratic frontrunner, effectively clearing the primary field. By April 2024, he had raised over $3 million for his campaign.[40]

Tenure

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Jones voted to certify the 2020 United States presidential election and later voted to impeach during Trump's second impeachment. He and Ted Lieu co-wrote a letter to the Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State Supreme Court-Appellate Division asking for Rudy Giuliani to be disbarred due to his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[41]

Jones successfully lobbied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt the deportation of Paul Pierrilus, who was scheduled to be the last person to be deported during the Trump administration. Pierrilus, a constituent of Jones's, was to be deported to Haiti, a country he had never been to, before Jones intervened.[42]

Jones, Senator Ed Markey, Representative Hank Johnson, and House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler pushed for an expansion of the Supreme Court from 9 seats to 13.[43] Around the same time, Jones called for a "Third Reconstruction" in a Washington Post opinion piece.[44] He criticized President Obama for supporting the 9-member status quo system of the Supreme Court and opposing the court's expansion.[45]

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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After Congress

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In 2023, Jones was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, a federal agency focused on investigating and reporting on civil rights issues.[53][54] The same year, he joined CNN as an on-air contributor[55] and began working with the nonprofit Future Forward USA Action, which supports progressive causes.[56][57]

Personal life

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Jones publicly came out as gay at the age of 24[13][14] and is a member of the First Baptist Church of Spring Valley.[58] In 2020, marking the 50th anniversary of the first gay Pride parade, Queerty recognized Jones as one of 50 individuals "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people."[59][60]

Electoral history

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2020

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2020 Democratic primary, New York's 17th congressional district[61]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones 32,796 41.91%
Democratic Adam Schleifer 12,732 16.27%
Democratic Evelyn Farkas 12,210 15.60%
Democratic David Carlucci 8,649 11.05%
Democratic David Buchwald 6,673 8.53%
Democratic Asha Castleberry-Hernandez 2,062 2.64%
Democratic Allison Fine 1,588 2.03%
Democratic Catherine Parker 1,539 1.97%
Total votes 78,246 100%
2020 general election, New York's 17th congressional district[62]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones 183,975 55.27%
Working Families Mondaire Jones 13,378 4.02%
Total Mondaire Jones 197,353 59.29%
Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman 117,307 35.25%
Conservative Yehudis Gottesfeld 8,887 2.67%
Education. Community. Law. Joshua Eisen 6,363 1.91%
SAM Michael Parietti 2,745 0.82%
Write-in 197 0.06%
Total votes 332,852 100%
Democratic hold

2022

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2022 Democratic primary, New York's 10th congressional district[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dan Goldman 16,686 25.8
Democratic Yuh-Line Niou 15,380 23.7
Democratic Mondaire Jones (incumbent)[a] 11,777 18.2
Democratic Carlina Rivera 10,985 17.0
Democratic Jo Anne Simon 3,991 6.2
Democratic Elizabeth Holtzman 2,845 4.4
Democratic Jimmy Li 777 1.2
Democratic Yan Xiong 686 1.1
Democratic Maud Maron 578 0.9
Democratic Bill de Blasio (withdrawn) 477 0.7
Democratic Brian Robinson 322 0.5
Democratic Peter Gleason 147 0.2
Democratic Quanda Francis 121 0.2
Total votes 64,772 100.0

2024

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2024 Working Families primary, New York's 17th congressional district[63]
Party Candidate Votes %
Working Families Anthony Frascone 287 59.30
Working Families Mondaire Jones 197 40.70
Total votes 484 100%

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Due to redistricting, Mondaire Jones decided to move to NY-10, which is not connected by territory to his home district of NY-17.

References

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  1. ^ Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2020. Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings.
  2. ^ @MondaireJones (May 18, 2020). "Today's my 33rd birthday and all I want is #MedicareForAll, a #GreenNewDeal, #StudentDebtForgiveness, and a country that values working people over corporate profits" (Tweet). Retrieved July 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Solender, Andrew (August 1, 2022). "Progressive rising star Mondaire Jones fights for his political life". Axios. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Deconstructed (June 25, 2020). "Deconstructed Podcast: The Rise of the Left (With Mondaire Jones)". The Intercept. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Solender, Andrew (November 1, 2019). "Can Mondaire Jones Make History In NY17?". The River. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Baird, Addy (November 3, 2020). "Ritchie Torres Has Made History As The First Openly Gay Black Member Of Congress". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Solender, Andrew (August 24, 2022). "Former impeachment lawyer Dan Goldman unseats Rep. Mondaire Jones in New York". Axios. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Shapero, Julia (July 5, 2023). "Mondaire Jones launches 2024 House bid to reclaim New York seat". The Hill. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Woodson, A. J. (December 23, 2019). "Mondaire Jones Interview". Black Westchester Magazine. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Jones, Mondaire (November 24, 2019). "Why I'm Running for Congress". Medium. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Ratan, Kira (December 18, 2019). "For Mondaire Jones, politics is personal". Tower. The Masters School. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Lieberman, Steve. "Nita Lowey faces challenger from the left: Mondaire Jones, progressive Democrat, announces 2020 run". The Journal News. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Ruiz, Michelle (June 24, 2020). "Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones Are Poised to Make LGBTQ+ History in Congress". Vogue. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Coltin, Jeff (October 7, 2019). "The black, gay Harvard grad taking on Nita Lowey". City & State. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Failla, Zak (June 24, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Holds Big Lead In Race To Take Over Nita Lowey's Congressional Seat". White Plains Daily Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  16. ^ Lach, Eric (June 24, 2020). "Campaigning During the Coronavirus: The Race for New York's Seventeenth Congressional District". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  17. ^ Carlisle, Madeleine (June 24, 2020). "Two Democratic Candidates Poised To Become the First Openly Gay Black Congressmen". Time. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Kassel, Matthew (May 13, 2020). "From Washington to Westchester: the Obama Justice Department fellow running for Lowey's seat". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  19. ^ Kassel, Matthew (June 25, 2020). "Mondaire Jones has big plans and big shoes to fill in Congress". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "I'm Running for Congress to Fight Systemic Racism". Teen Vogue. June 18, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  21. ^ Facciola, Timmy (August 8, 2023). "Can Mondaire Jones Make Nice With the Democratic Establishment?". Intelligencer. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Russonello, Giovanni (July 3, 2020). "Have Americans Warmed to Calls to 'Defund the Police'?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "New York Primary Election Results: 17th Congressional District". The New York Times. June 23, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  24. ^ Rubinstein, Dana (July 14, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Rides Insurgent Wave to a House Primary Win in N.Y." The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  25. ^ Lungariello, Mark (August 17, 2020). "Local candidates sue Donald Trump, Louis DeJoy over U.S. Postal Service funding". LoHud. Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Jones, Mondaire (August 26, 2020). "Why I'm Suing President Trump and Postmaster General DeJoy: Mondaire Jones". LoHud. Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  27. ^ Hallum, Mark (September 21, 2020). "Federal court requires USPS to restore overtime and give ballots First-Class treatment". AM NY. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  28. ^ Heckman, Jory (September 22, 2020). "Federal court orders USPS to outline 'necessary' steps to reverse mail delays". Federal News Network. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  29. ^ "Meet The Candidate: McArdle-Schulman For Congress In NY17". Mid Hudson Valley, NY Patch. September 29, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  30. ^ "Democrat Mondaire Jones wins election to U.S. House in New York's 17th Congressional District". AP NEWS. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  31. ^ J. David Goodman (November 25, 2019). "Could Donald Jr. or Lara Trump Run for Office in New York, and Win?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  32. ^ Bekiempis, Victoria (November 18, 2022). "How a five-term New York Democrat lost a House seat to a Republican". The Guardian.
  33. ^ Mychael Schnell, Mike Lillis (October 26, 2022). "House GOP looks to topple Democrats' campaign chief".
  34. ^ Facciola, Timmy (June 7, 2024). "Sean Patrick Maloney offered to withdraw from 2022 NY-17 primary, but Mondaire Jones turned him down". City & State NY. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  35. ^ "Mondaire Jones joins crowded field for New York's 10th district as judge approves congressional maps". ABC7 New York. May 21, 2022.
  36. ^ Sammon, Alexander (November 14, 2022). "The Inside Story of Sean Patrick Maloney's Face Plant in New York". Slate – via slate.com.
  37. ^ a b "August 23 Federal and State primary results". New York State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  38. ^ "Mondaire Jones Hard at Work Fighting for Equal Rights for All". The Examiner News. July 4, 2023.
  39. ^ "Rep. Mondaire Jones deletes tweet about McCarthy after criticism from fellow Democrats". October 4, 2023.
  40. ^ Mutnick, Ally (April 9, 2024). "Mondaire Jones posts nearly $2M fundraising quarter in New York House comeback bid". Politico.
  41. ^ Sisak, Michael R. (January 12, 2021). "Bar association seeks Giuliani ban over 'combat' remarks". ABC News. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  42. ^ Hernandez, Arelis (January 20, 2021). "In one of its last acts, Trump administration tried to deport man to Haiti who has never been there". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  43. ^ Grim, Ryan (April 14, 2021). "House and Senate Democrats Plan Bill to Add Four Justices to Supreme Court". The Intercept. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  44. ^ Jones, Mondaire (April 12, 2021). "Opinion: Now is the time for a Third Reconstruction — abolishing Jim Crow once and for all". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  45. ^ Jones, Mondaire (October 21, 2022). "Barack Obama is Wrong to Oppose Expanding the Supreme Court". The Nation.
  46. ^ Adams, Biba (November 20, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Named Freshman Representative to House Leadership". The Grio. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  47. ^ "Chairman Nadler Statement on New Members Nominated to the House Judiciary Committee". House Committee on the Judiciary. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  48. ^ @RepJones (January 5, 2021). "Humbled to announce my nomination to @EdLaborCmte" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  49. ^ a b c "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Mondaire Jones". jones.house.gov. January 3, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  50. ^ @RepJones (January 26, 2021). "I'm honored to be appointed to the House Ethics Committee!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  51. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  52. ^ Dunne, Allison (December 22, 2020). "Congressman-Elect Jones Will Be On The LGBTQ Caucus, Judiciary Committee". www.wamc.org. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  53. ^ "Appointment of Individual to the Commission on Civil Rights" (PDF). Congressional Record. 168 (204): H10549. January 3, 2023.
  54. ^ "Exclusive: Rep. Mondaire Jones to be appointed to US Commission on Civil Rights". Hudsonvalley.news12.com. December 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  55. ^ "Former Rep. Mondaire Jones Joins CNN as On-Air Commentator". Cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  56. ^ "Future Forward USA Action". InfluenceWatch. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  57. ^ "Financial Disclosure Report" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  58. ^ "Meet Mondaire Jones". Mondaire for Congress. 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  59. ^ "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  60. ^ "9 queer political figures creating a more perfect union this election year". Queerty. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  61. ^ "Live results: 2020 New York House primaries". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  62. ^ "2020 Election Results". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  63. ^ "New York 17th Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 25, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th congressional district
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
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Preceded byas former U.S. Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as former U.S. Representative 		Succeeded byas former U.S. Representative
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