Mondaire Jones

Mondaire Jones (born May 18, 1987)[1] is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district since 2021. The district includes most of central and western Westchester County and all of Rockland County. A member of the Democratic Party, he and Ritchie Torres are the first openly gay Black members of Congress.[2]

Mondaire Jones
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byNita Lowey
Personal details
Born (1987-05-18) May 18, 1987
Nyack, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Early life and education

Jones was born in Nyack, New York, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, where he was raised by a single mother.[3] After his mother became ill, Jones lived with his grandparents, who worked multiple jobs to support him.[4][5] He graduated from public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District.[6] He earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2009 and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2013.[7][8]

Career

Jones worked in the United States Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama.[9][10] He also worked for Davis Polk & Wardwell, as a law clerk for Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,[11] and for the Westchester County law department.[12][13] Jones also provided pro bono legal aid through The Legal Aid Society.[14]

U.S. House of Representatives

2020 election
Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 17

Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic primary to represent the 17th district in the 2020 elections against 16-term incumbent Nita Lowey. Two months after Jones entered the race, Lowey later announced that she would not seek re-election.[13][15] He advocated for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and police reform.[16][11]

In a crowded eight-way Democratic primary–the real contest in this heavily Democratic district–Jones defeated attorney Adam Schleifer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, state senator David Carlucci, and state assemblyman David Buchwald among others, winning 42% of the vote.[17] The Associated Press called the race for Jones on July 14, 2020, three weeks after the June 23rd primary; the vote tabulation having been delayed because of a large number of absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

In the general election, Jones ran against Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman, a former FDNY firefighter, as well as several third party candidates.[19] The Associated Press called the race for Jones the day after election day.[20] Along with Ritchie Torres from New York's 15th congressional district, Jones is one of the first gay African Americans elected to the United States House of Representatives.[9]

USPS lawsuit

On August 17, 2020, Jones filed suit in the Southern District of New York against President Donald Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to reverse recent changes made to the United States Postal Service that affected the agency's ability to deliver mail, including absentee ballots.[21] In an opinion piece, Jones said he sued President Trump and Postmaster General DeJoy "for violating the Constitution in their attempts to undermine the United States Postal Service and thwart free and fair elections this November."[22]

On September 21, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero granted an injunction against the USPS that required USPS to restore overtime and treat all mail-in ballots as First-Class.[23] Jones celebrated the decision, saying: "This injunction prescribes very specific, affirmative actions that the Postal Service must undertake to ensure a free and fair election, which is my constitutional right as someone who is running for office, and which is a constitutional right of everyone in this country who is eligible to vote."[24]

Tenure

Jones is one of two African-American LGBTQ+ members of the 117th United States Congress, along with New York's Ritchie Torres.[25]

After the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Jones voted to certify the 2020 United States presidential election and later voted for the Second impeachment of Donald Trump. He wrote with Ted Lieu a letter to the New York State Bar Association asking for Rudy Giuliani to be disbarred due to his role in the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[26]

Jones successfully lobbied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt the deportation of Paul Pierrilus, Pierrilus was scheduled to be the last person to be deported during the Trump administration.[27]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Jones came out as gay when he was 24.[9][10] He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Spring Valley.[33]

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Jones among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people."[34][35]

Electoral history
New York's 17th Congressional District, 2020 Democratic Primary[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones 32,796 41.91%
Democratic Adam Schleifer 12,732 16.27%
Democratic Evelyn Farkas 12,210 15.60%
Democratic David Carlucci 8,649 11.05%
Democratic David Buchwald 6,673 8.53%
Democratic Asha Castleberry-Hernandez 2,062 2.64%
Democratic Allison Fine 1,588 2.03%
Democratic Catherine Parker 1,539 1.97%
Total votes 78,246 100%
New York's 17th Congressional District, 2020 General Election[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mondaire Jones 183,975 55.27%
Working Families Mondaire Jones 13,378 4.02%
Total Mondaire Jones 197,353 59.29%
Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman 117,307 35.25%
Conservative Yehudis Gottesfeld 8,887 2.67%
Education. Community. Law. Joshua Eisen 6,363 1.91%
SAM Michael Parietti 2,745 0.82%
Write-in 197 0.06%
Total votes 332,852 100%
Democratic hold

See also

References
  1. @MondaireJones (May 18, 2020). "Today's my 33rd birthday and all I want is #MedicareForAll, a #GreenNewDeal, #StudentDebtForgiveness, and a country that values working people over corporate profits" (Tweet). Retrieved July 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. "Ritchie Torres Has Made History As The First Openly Gay Black Member Of Congress". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. Woodson, A. J. (December 23, 2019). "Mondaire Jones Interview". Black Westchester Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. Jones, Mondaire (November 24, 2019). "Why I'm Running for Congress". Medium. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  5. Ratan, Kira (December 18, 2019). "For Mondaire Jones, politics is personal". Tower. The Masters School. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  6. Lieberman, Steve. "Nita Lowey faces challenger from the left: Mondaire Jones, progressive Democrat, announces 2020 run". The Journal News. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  7. Failla, Zak (June 24, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Holds Big Lead In Race To Take Over Nita Lowey's Congressional Seat". White Plains Daily Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  8. Lach, Eric (June 24, 2020). "Campaigning During the Coronavirus: The Race for New York's Seventeenth Congressional District". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  9. Ruiz, Michelle (June 24, 2020). "Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones Are Poised to Make LGBTQ+ History in Congress". Vogue. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  10. Coltin, Jeff (October 7, 2019). "The black, gay Harvard grad taking on Nita Lowey". City & State. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. Solender, Andrew (November 1, 2019). "Can Mondaire Jones Make History In NY17?". The River. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  12. Carlisle, Madeleine (June 24, 2020). "Two Democratic Candidates Poised To Become the First Openly Gay Black Congressmen". Time. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  13. Kassel, Matthew (May 13, 2020). "From Washington to Westchester: the Obama Justice Department fellow running for Lowey's seat". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  14. "Jones, Mondaire". LGBTQ Victory Fund. 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  15. Kassel, Matthew (June 25, 2020). "Mondaire Jones has big plans and big shoes to fill in Congress". Jewish Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  16. Deconstructed (June 25, 2020). "Deconstructed Podcast: The Rise of the Left (With Mondaire Jones)". The Intercept. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  17. "New York Primary Election Results: 17th Congressional District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  18. Rubinstein, Dana (July 14, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Rides Insurgent Wave to a House Primary Win in N.Y." Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  19. "Meet The Candidate: McArdle-Schulman For Congress In NY17". Mid Hudson Valley, NY Patch. September 29, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  20. "Democrat Mondaire Jones wins election to U.S. House in New York's 17th Congressional District". AP NEWS. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  21. Lungariello, Mark (August 17, 2020). "Local candidates sue Donald Trump, Louis DeJoy over U.S. Postal Service funding". LoHud. Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  22. Jones, Mondaire (August 26, 2020). "Why I'm Suing President Trump and Postmaster General DeJoy: Mondaire Jones". LoHud. Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  23. Hallum, Mark (September 21, 2020). "Federal court requires USPS to restore overtime and give ballots First-Class treatment". AM NY. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  24. Heckman, Jory (September 22, 2020). "Federal court orders USPS to outline 'necessary' steps to reverse mail delays". Federal News Network. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  25. Avery, Dan. "Mondaire Jones joins Ritchie Torres as first gay Black men elected to Congress". NBCNews. NBCNews. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  26. @MondaireJones (January 11, 2021). "On Friday, Rep. @TedLieu and I wrote asking the NYS Bar to disbar Rudy Giuliani, who helped incite last week's violence at the Capitol" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. Hernandez, Arelis. "In one of its last acts, Trump administration tried to deport man to Haiti who has never been there". Washington Post. Washington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  28. Adams, Biba (November 20, 2020). "Mondaire Jones Named Freshman Representative to House Leadership". The Grio. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  29. "Chairman Nadler Statement on New Members Nominated to the House Judiciary Committee". House Committee on the Judiciary. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  30. @RepJones (January 5, 2021). "Humbled to announce my nomination to @EdLaborCmte" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Mondaire Jones". jones.house.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  32. Dunne, Allison. "Congressman-Elect Jones Will Be On The LGBTQ Caucus, Judiciary Committee". www.wamc.org. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  33. "Meet Mondaire Jones". Mondaire for Congress. 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  34. "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  35. Editors (July 2, 2020). "9 queer political figures creating a more perfect union this election year". Queerty. Retrieved July 28, 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  36. "Live results: 2020 New York House primaries". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  37. "2020 Election Results". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
    U.S. House of Representatives
    Preceded by
    Nita Lowey    		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
    from New York's 17th congressional district
    2021–present    		 Incumbent
    U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
    Preceded by
    Sara Jacobs    		 United States Representatives by seniority
    405th    		 Succeeded by
    Jake LaTurner
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