Jon Craig Ford (born May 21, 1968) was an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

. He was the House Minority Leader from 2010 to 2016. He currently serves as mayor of

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

Personal life and education

Ford graduated from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

in 1991, with a degree in marketing. His wife, Gwen Glover, teaches at Gadsden State Community College. Ford's father, Joe Ford, served in the

Alabama House The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contain ...

for 26 years.

Career

Ford was elected to the

in 2000, succeeding his father. In 2010, Ford was elected House Minority Leader. Ford serves on the Ways and Means - Education Committee, and the Commerce and Small Business Committee. Ford considered running for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Ford has proposed repealing the Alabama Accountability Act, proposing instead to spend more money on Alabama's Pre-K program and the Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative. Ford has led an effort to introduce a state lottery, with the revenue going to education spending. Ford was among the first lawmakers to call for former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley to resign or be impeached for misusing taxpayer dollars and state resources. Ford also stood up to the Democratic Party's leadership and called for their resignation in light of their own failed leadership and accusations of corruption. March 2018, Ford announced he is running in Alabama Senate District 10 as an Independent, a seat held by Sen. Phil Williams of Rainbow City, who is not seeking reelection. Ford co-owns Hodges-Ford Insurance, as well as The Messenger, a weekly newspaper. Ford serves as a captain in the

Alabama Army National Guard The Alabama Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. Alabama Army National ...

. On November 14, 2021, Ford announced that he was running for mayor of Gadsden. Ford won the runoff election 62%-38%.

References

External links

Vote Smart page

An interview regarding the Accountability Act
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Craig 1968 births Alabama Independents Auburn University alumni Businesspeople from Alabama Editors of Alabama newspapers Living people Members of the Alabama House of Representatives Military personnel from Alabama People from Gadsden, Alabama 21st-century American politicians