Georgia Democratic State Rep. Vernon Jones announces support of Republican President Donald Trump

A day after burying his 90-year-old mother, Georgia Democratic State Rep. Vernon Jones dropped a bombshell today announcing his support for the re-election of Republican President Donald Trump.

Jones, who is on the ballot seeking re-election for House District 91, was immediately denounced by the Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams. In this report, Williams statement follows Jones’ 352-word statement about his support for Trump.

Jones issued the following statement:

“President Trump is the most action-oriented president of my lifetime. He is the leader our country needed. The results speak for themselves. With his hand on the wheel, the stock market broke record after record, wages and job growth exploded and unemployment dropped down to record lows. Given his track record, President Trump is best prepared to lead our economy back to record highs after we beat the COVID-19 pandemic.

HBCUs – Historically Black Colleges and Universities – are the lifeblood of the African American middle class and a predominant path to prosperity for millions  of Americans. As a proud HBCU graduate, I support President Trump’s prioritization and provision of record funding for these institutions in doing more for HBCUs than any other occupants of the Oval Office in my lifetime.

Thousands of first-time offenders have been able to move on with their lives and begin the path to restoration and positive, productive re-entry into society as a result of President Trump’s leadership with the First Step Act and criminal justice reform. A generation of African American families have been devastated by draconian policies that Joe Biden supported and voted for when he served in the U.S. Senate. A change was needed and President Trump took action. A great and well-known example of President Trump’s leadership on this issue lead is his commutation of the life sentence of a first-time nonviolent drug offender, Ms. Alice Marie Johnson. What the media often failed to note was that her pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears when she approached the previous administration.

I agree with President Trump’s position of protecting the American people from the negatives outcomes that occur as a result of illegal immigration. I agree with his efforts to put our country on a level footing with foreign trade. I appreciate his compassionate advocacy and proactive policies toward our military and veterans. While I can speak to these reasons and many others, President Trump’s handling of the economy, his unprecedented and unyielding support of HBCUs and his record on criminal justice reform are the main reasons I enthusiastically support his re-election.”

Jones offered no comment regarding his decision to support Trump. He released the statement one day after attending his mother’s graveside funeral in North Carolina.

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams released the following statement:

“Vernon Jones is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party and does not stand for our values. Never has that been clearer than this moment, when he chose to stand with the racist president who has made an all-out assault on Black Americans, who has tried to rip away American health care, and who has failed our country in its greatest time of need during the most important election in our lifetimes. Vernon Jones doesn’t speak for Georgians, and neither does Donald Trump — which is why Georgians will send him home in November 2020.”

The controversy currently brewing isn’t the only one concerning Jones, who is running against consultant Rhonda Taylor, a Conyers resident. Last month, community watchdog Faye Coffield, a resident of the city of Stonecrest, filed  a complaint alleging Jones does not live in the legislative district he represents in the House—District 91.

The complaint, field with the state on March 26 by attorneys representing Coffield, alleges that Jones lives in Atlanta and should not be permitted to run for re-election in House District 91, which covers portions of DeKalb and Rockdale counties. The complaint seeks to have Jones’ name removed from ballots for the May 19 primary election, which now has been moved to June 9 due to COVID-19.

Jones told On Common Ground News the “complaint is baseless and without merit.”

Coffield’s complaint alleges that although Jones is registered to vote at an address in the city of Stonecrest, he sold his interest in the property in 2001. The complaint claims that a cellphone and a hard line phone associated with Jones have service addresses at a home he purchased last summer on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta.

State law requires that candidates live within the area they’re seeking to represent for at least one year prior to an election.

On Common Ground News reported that Jones bowed out of a 2012 race in which he was seeking the House District 94 seat. He withdrew from the race prior to the Democratic primary. He said he wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to a client of his having a business interest with the state of Georgia.

There were four Democrats who wound up competing in the primary: Karen Bennett, Patricia Bourdeau, Tony Lentin and Jaye Peabody.