Scott Robert Jones (born August 10, 1967) is an American attorney, politician, and former law enforcement officer who served as the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

from 2010-2022. Jones was first elected in 2010, winning re-election to his post in 2014 and again in 2018.

Early life and education

Jones was raised in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and moved to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

with his family as a child. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from the

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Lincoln Law School of Sacramento Lincoln Law School of Sacramento is a private, for-profit law school in Sacramento, California. The school offers an evening-only, four-year juris doctor degree program. Accreditation and bar passage rate Lincoln Law School received approv ...

in 1998.

Career

Jones joined the

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SSO), is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities ...

in 1989. During his tenure, he has served in corrections, patrol, and legal affairs. He later served as the department's legal advisor.

2016 U.S. congressional campaign

In November 2015, Jones announced he would run for U.S. Congress in

California's 7th congressional district California's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in California. Ami Bera, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2013. Currently, it encompasses southern Sacramento County, part of Yolo Coun ...

in 2016. Jones, a Republican, faced incumbent Democrat

Ami Bera Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera (; born March 2, 1965) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, his district encompasses most of Sacramento's eastern and southern sub ...

in the November 2016 general election. Bera defeated Jones in the general election, winning 51% of the vote to Jones's 49%. The margin of victory was 4,802 votes. Jones was endorsed by the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, a labor union for carpenters. Focuses of his campaign included economic issues, assistance for veterans and seniors, immigration, and national security.

2022 U.S. congressional campaign

In January 2022, Jones announced that he would retire as sheriff and run for

California's 3rd congressional district California's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. John Garamendi, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2013. Effective January 2023, California's 3rd congressional district will include ...

in the 2022 election. He was defeated in the June primary after receiving 16.2 percent of the vote.

Political positions

Jones believes in a pathway to legal status for immigrants who are in the United States illegally, and he is opposed to the deportation of illegal immigrants. He is personally opposed to abortion but does not believe it should be illegal. He opposes Republican Party efforts to defund

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. He supports gay marriage. He is opposed to a minimum wage increase and to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

COVID-19

In 2020, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department received $104 million in federal coronavirus relief funds after it stated that its employees would be "substantially dedicated" to addressing

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in the form of public education and breaking up social gatherings. However, in June 2020, in response to a statewide mandate to wear masks in public to address the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Sheriff Jones said that his deputies would not enforce the mandate. In November 2020, hours before the state was about to announce new stay-at-home restrictions and curfews across much of the state, Jones announced that his department "would not enforce any health or emergency orders related to curfews, staying at home, Thanksgiving or other social gatherings inside or outside the home", or any other orders in effect at the time or in the future, calling emergency health orders "oppressive", "arbitrary" and "unrealistic". In an interview in late November 2020, Dr. Peter Beilenson, the Sacramento County health director, said that Jones' lack of enforcement actions had worsened the spread of the coronavirus in the county. In early December 2020, the sheriff's office announced that Jones had tested positive for the virus, and dozens of sheriff's department employees had also tested positive.

Personal life

Jones is married and has four children. He has served on the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

Northeastern California and Northern Nevada chapter board of directors since 2014.

References

External links

Scott Jones for Congress

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
1967 births California Republicans California sheriffs Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Lincoln Law School of Sacramento alumni Living people Politicians from Los Angeles Politicians from Sacramento, California {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub