Velda Jones-Potter is a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She was appointed by

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

to finish out his term as Delaware State Treasurer when he was elected governor in 2008. She lost her bid for election in the 2010 Democratic primary to

Chip Flowers Chipman "Chip" L. Flowers Jr. (born December 27, 1974, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American politician, attorney and business owner who served as the treasurer of the state of Delaware from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Flower ...

. She is currently the Wilmington City Treasurer.

Early life and career

Jones-Potter attended P. S. Dupont High School. She was the first African American woman to graduate from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in engineering. Jones-Potter obtained her

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. She worked for

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

for 17 years and served as an executive vice president for

MBNA MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006. History The former Maryland National ...

Political career

When Jack Markell was elected governor in 2008, he appointed Jones-Potter to finish out his term as Delaware State Treasurer. She became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to hold statewide office in Delaware. She ran for election to the position in 2010 as the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

but lost in the Democratic primary to Chip Flowers, who won with 54 percent over Jones-Potter and went on to win the general election against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Colin Bonini Colin Rafferty Marie Jude Bonini (born April 14, 1965) is an American politician and a Republican former member of the Delaware Senate, where he represented the 16th District from 1995 to 2022. Bonini received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesley C ...

. During the campaign, she faced scrutiny for receiving over $100,000 in consulting fees by the City of Wilmington between 2007 and 2010. In 2016, Jones-Potter won the three-way Democratic primary for Wilmington City Treasurer with 40 percent against Darius J. Brown and Kenneth Matlusky. She was elected unopposed in the general election. By winning this election, Jones-Potter became the first African-American woman to serve as the Wilmington City Treasurer. In 2018, ''

The News Journal ''The News Journal'' is the main newspaper for Wilmington, Delaware, and the surrounding area. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett. History The ancestry of the News Journ ...

'' reported that she had sought a raise of $21,647, or nearly 20 percent over her current salary of $113,933, as well as raises for her appointees in the treasury department.

Legal controversies

In 2017, Jones-Potter and her husband, Charles Potter Jr., were at risk of losing their home to a sheriff's sale as a result of "ongoing litigation stemming from home repairs." A

Delaware Superior Court The Delaware Superior Court, previously known as the Superior Court and Orphans' Court, is the state trial court of general jurisdiction in the state of Delaware. It has original jurisdiction over most criminal and civil cases (except for suits at ...

judge rejected all of the couple's complaints after finding them liable for failing to pay a construction contractor over $60,000 and criticized their "kitchen sink" tactics in the litigation. The

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

rejected two appeals by the couple, and upheld a judgement of $116,000, plus interest, against them in 2018. In 2018, the Delaware Superior Court rejected an attempt by the Potters to force the City of Wilmington's Licenses and Inspections Department to hold the contractor liable for code violations. The judge ruled that the couple cannot use the city to obtain compensation for losing their earlier legal disputes and criticized their use of the courts as spiteful. The Potters' appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court was rejected in 2019.

References

External links

Official website
for Wilmington City Treasurer {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Potter, Velda African-American people in Delaware politics African-American women in politics Delaware Democrats Indiana University alumni Living people State treasurers of Delaware University of Delaware alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people