Jack Jackson, Jr.

Jack C. Jackson Jr. (Navajo) is an American attorney and politician from Arizona. A Democrat, he served in the Arizona Senate, representing the state's 2nd district in northern Arizona from 2011 until July 2013, when he left for an appointment with the U.S. Department of State. He is a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives, having served from January 2003 to January 2005.

His father, Jack C. Jackson Sr., served in the Arizona House until 2004, and they were the first father and son to serve together in the state legislature. In 2004, Jackson Jr. declined to seek a second House term.

Personal life and education Jack C. Jackson Jr. was born on the Navajo Nation, into his mother's Tó’áhaní (Near The Water) clan and born for his father's Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House) clan. His maternal grandfather is from the Tábaahá (Water’s Edge) clan, and his paternal grandfather is from the Áshiihí (Salt) clan. His father, Jack Jackson Sr., had a long political career, serving in the State Legislature from 1985 to 2004.

In 2005, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano appointed Jackson as the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs, an office that assists Arizona's 22 Indian Nations and Tribes. That year, Jackson also began his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 1st congressional district, a seat held by the Republican Rick Renzi. In March 2006, he withdrew from the House campaign ahead of the September Democratic primary, citing his campaign's inability to raise sufficient funds to compete against the incumbent. Renzi retained his seat in the November election.

In 2010, Jackson Jr. ran for the Arizona Senate in the Legislative District 2 and won the August Democratic primary, defeating three other candidates. He was unopposed in the general election since no Republican filed for the seat. As a result, in November 2010, Jackson reclaimed his father's former Senate seat in the 50th Arizona Legislature.

In the 2012 election, Jackson ran unopposed. Subsequently, he was re-elected to represent the newly drawn Arizona Legislative District 7, which, in 2011, incorporated all of the state's northern tribes: Hualapai, Havasupai, Kaibab Paiute, Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Pueblo, as well as the White Mountain and San Carlos Apache reservations.

Jackson served on the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise Board from October 2007 to August 2014. In 2024, he was appointed to the FCC.

Personal

Jackson is gay. On October 11, 2008, in Del Mar, California, before the passage of Proposition 8, Jackson was married to db Bailey in a sunset ceremony.