David Evan Jones (born January 4, 1962) is an American politician who served as
California's Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2019. He previously represented
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
's 9th assembly district from 2004 to 2010 as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Pre-assembly career
Jones attended
Carl Sandburg High School
Carl Sandburg High School, Sandburg, or CSHS, is a public four-year high school located at the intersection of La Grange Road and Southmoor Drive in Orland Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is ...
in
Orland Park, Illinois
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703.
Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Ch ...
where he served as student body president alongside student body vice-president
John Chiang. Lifelong friends, Chiang and Jones would run again together in 2010 on the California Democratic slate, with Chiang winning reelection as
State Controller and Jones being elected
Insurance Commissioner
An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...
, and again in 2014, with Chiang being elected
State Treasurer and Jones winning reelection as Insurance Commissioner. Both would go down in defeat in the 2018 primary, with Chiang coming in fifth place for
Governor of California and Jones coming in third place for
Attorney General of California
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Secti ...
.
Sacramento City Council
Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Jones was a member of the
Sacramento City Council
The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the city of Sacramento, California. The council holds regular meetings at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm, with exceptions for holidays and other special cases.
Sacramento's city co ...
, representing the 6th District, which includes much of Southeastern Sacramento and the College Greens neighborhood in East Sacramento. He served for five and a half years after winning a 1999 special election to replace
Darrell Steinberg
Darrell Steven Steinberg (born October 15, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who is the 56th mayor of Sacramento, California since December 2016. He was elected to be mayor on June 7, 2016 (avoiding a runoff). Before that, he was Cali ...
, also his predecessor in the Assembly.
Legal career
Before his election to the city council, he worked for six years as a legal aid attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, providing free legal assistance to the poor. In 1995, Jones was one of 13 Americans awarded a
White House Fellowship
The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Cor ...
. Jones served in the
Clinton administration for three years. He first served as a special assistant to
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
and later as her counsel.
Education
Jones received his undergraduate degree from
DePauw University
DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...
, his
Juris Doctor degree from
Harvard Law School, and a
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focu ...
degree from Harvard's
Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
.
Assembly career
Committee assignments
Jones, a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, chaired the Assembly Judiciary Committee for four years. He also chaired the Assembly Health Committee and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. He served on the Appropriations Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Accountability and Government Review Committee.
Legislative accomplishments
According to Jones' official biography, his legislative accomplishments include:
* Reforming California's conservatorship laws, enacting sweeping protections for seniors and dependent adults facing abuse (Assembly Bill 1363 of 2006).
* Preventing HMOs and health insurers from charging men and women different rates for the same health insurance policies (Assembly Bill 119 of 2009).
* First-in-the-nation legislation allowing Californians to share their personal vehicles in car-sharing pools without invalidating their auto insurance (Assembly Bill 1871 of 2010).
* Securing billions in federal funding to improve California's hospital health care safety net and fund children's health care, by establishing a hospital provider fee (Assembly Bill 1383 of 2009).
* Protecting private medical records from mis-use (Assembly Bill 1298 of 2007) and disclosure (Assembly Bill 211 of 2008).
* Creating the nation's largest early childhood education and preschool program to give children the best possible start (Assembly Bill 2759 of 2008).
Jones also authored legislation in 2010 that sought to regulate
pet insurance
Pet insurance is a form of insurance that pays, partly or in total, for veterinary treatment of the insured person's ill or injured pet. Some policies will pay out when the pet dies, or if the pet is lost or stolen.
As veterinary medicine is in ...
by requiring pet insurance companies to be more specific about which types coverage will be provided. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and did not become law.
Involvement in other races
2008 Sacramento mayor race
Jones was mentioned by several people as a potential opponent for Mayor
Heather Fargo in 2008 due to his experience in local politics. However, Jones decided not to run and endorsed the mayor in her unsuccessful reelection bid against former
NBA star and non profit director
Kevin Johnson.
2008 Presidential election
Jones supported Democrat
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
in his race against Republican
John McCain in the November
2008 Presidential Election. Jones' 2011 inauguration speech indicated his strong support for implementing Obama's health care reform law in California.
Insurance Commissioner
2010 election
![Dave Jones 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Dave_Jones_2010.jpg)
On November 13, 2008, Jones announced his campaign for California State Insurance Commissioner in 2010, a statewide elected office. Republican incumbent
Steve Poizner was expected to run for Governor. Jones announced, "The insurance commissioner should be a strong advocate for consumers. I think with my background and experience, I would be a very strong advocate." He was quickly endorsed by State Senate President
Darrell Steinberg
Darrell Steven Steinberg (born October 15, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who is the 56th mayor of Sacramento, California since December 2016. He was elected to be mayor on June 7, 2016 (avoiding a runoff). Before that, he was Cali ...
and State Controller
John Chiang. Jones' main opponent in the Democratic primary was Los Angeles Assembly Member
Hector De La Torre
Hector De La Torre (born May 29, 1967) is an American politician from Los Angeles County, California who served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010. A Democrat, he represented the largely Latino 50th Assembly district.
Person ...
.
Jones won the Democratic Party endorsement by receiving just over 60 percent of the delegate votes at the California Democratic Party's convention in Los Angeles on April 18, 2010. Jones defeated De La Torre in the Democratic Primary.
Jones won 3,544,003 votes in the general election, defeating Republican State Assemblyman
Mike Villines, who received 2,650,383 votes.
Insurance commissioner career controversies
During the development of the health benefit exchange in California, Jones lobbied to exclude providers from the small business portion of the exchange that he felt charged unreasonably high rates. In particular, he worked to exclude
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Cross of California from the exchange. Anthem Blue Cross ended up withdrawing its participation in the small business portion of the exchange, prompting concerns that consumers would not be able to comparison shop on the exchange itself where plan designs were standardized, but would be required to compare exchange plans to externally marketed plans. Jones subsequently claimed that other major carriers on the exchange were charging unreasonable rates including Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. United Healthcare subsequently withdrew from the California individual market entirely. Blue Shield currently remains a member of the exchange.
2014 election
Jones was re-elected to a second term in
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 ...
with 57 percent of the vote against Republican
Ted Gaines
Edward Moore Gaines (born April 25, 1958) is an American politician and businessman serving as a member of the California Board of Equalization for the 1st district. He previously served as a California State Senator, representing the 1st Senate ...
, a state senator from Northern California.
2018 Attorney General election
In 2018, Jones declared his candidacy for
California Attorney General
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...
, finishing third in the primary election behind incumbent Democrat
Xavier Becerra, who was appointed to the position by then Governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
upon the resignation of
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
, who was elected to the United States Senate in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, and Republican Steven Bailey.
Personal life
Jones and his wife, Kim Flores, live in the Curtis Park neighborhood of
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and have two children, Isabelle and William.
Electoral history
References
External links
Join California Dave Jones*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dave
1962 births
21st-century American politicians
American people of Welsh descent
California Insurance Commissioners
California lawyers
Clinton administration personnel
DePauw University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Living people
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Politicians from Philadelphia
Sacramento City Council members