Danny Jones

Daniel Boyd Jones (born August 16, 1950) is an American businessman and politician. He served four terms as the mayor of Charleston, West Virginia from 2003 to 2019.

Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971 and was deployed to Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Sheriff and state delegate Jones was sheriff of Kanawha County, serving one term in office from 1984 to 1988. Jones was the first Republican to be elected as Kanawha County sheriff in more than thirty years; at the time, registered Democratic voters outnumbered registered Republican voters 2–1 in the county. As sheriff, Jones oversaw 130 full- and part-time employees, and managed the county jail, county law enforcement, and the county tax department.

Mayor of Charleston

Elections Jones first became mayor of Charleston in 2003. In 2007, Jones won a second term in office, receiving 4,304 votes (79%) and defeating Democratic candidate Hershel Layne, who won 1,142 votes (21%). In 2011, Jones won a third term with 3,349 votes (71%), defeating Democratic candidate Janet Thompson, who won 1,376 votes (29%).

In 2015, Jones won a fourth term as mayor of Charleston, becoming the first person to serve four terms in the position. Jones won 3,623 votes, defeating Democratic candidate Paul Monroe (who won 1,984 votes) and independent candidate Bill Carpenter (who won 191 votes).

Tenure and policies Jones has cited, as major accomplishments in office, the Appalachian Power Park, renovations to the Charleston Civic Center, and the a half-cent sales tax to fund the pension debt for Charleston's police and firefighters. Under Jones, the city also constructed new public housing units as replacements for older units. Jones has strongly criticized Freedom Industries, the company responsible. Jones said: "I can't believe there is not a law against what they did... [The leaders of Freedom Industries are] a bunch of renegades who have done irreparable harm to this valley ... Quite frankly, somebody needs to go to jail." Jones questioned whether the company's executives "cared what happened to the public." Jones said that he could not support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and also cited the party's drift to the right. Jones specially cited "the obsession of the West Virginia House of Delegates' leadership with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

Awards and honors In 2018, the West Virginia Municipal League honored Jones with its James C. Hunt Lifetime Achievement Award, the fourth time the award was issued in 26 years.