Burt Jones: Difference between revisions
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'''William Burton "Burt" Jones''' (born April 25, 1979) is an American politician and businessman. A [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], he has been a member of the [[Georgia State Senate]] since January 2013 elected from the 25th district. He was involved with the [[attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election]]. |
'''William Burton "Burt" Jones''' (born April 25, 1979) is an American politician and businessman. A [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], he has been a member of the [[Georgia State Senate]] since January 2013 elected from the 25th district. He was involved with the [[attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election]] as one of 16 "fake electors" that forged certificates appointing themselves Georgia's Electoral College representatives. |
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==Education== |
==Education== |
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Revision as of 15:05, 19 July 2022
Burt Jones | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Georgia Senate from the 25th district | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Johnny Grant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Burton Jones April 25, 1979 Jackson, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jan |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Georgia (BA) |
William Burton "Burt" Jones (born April 25, 1979) is an American politician and businessman. A Republican, he has been a member of the Georgia State Senate since January 2013 elected from the 25th district. He was involved with the attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election as one of 16 "fake electors" that forged certificates appointing themselves Georgia's Electoral College representatives.
Education
Jones is a 1998 graduate of Woodward Academy and a 2002 graduate of University of Georgia, where he played football and majored in history.[1] He was co-captain of the 2002 Georgia Bulldogs football team, which won the SEC Championship.[2]
Career as oil and insurance executive
A wealthy oil executive,[3][4] he is heir to the Jones Petroleum Company.[5] In 2004,[6] Jones founded JP Capital & Insurance, Inc., an insurance business in Jackson, Georgia.[2][7][8] The insurance and lending company is a subsidiary of Jones Petroleum Co.[6][9]
Political career
Georgia Senate
Jones became a member of the state Senate in 2013.[10]
Attempt to overturn 2020 presidential election results
While some Georgia Republicans acknowledged Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, Jones denied the election results and promoted Trump's false claims of election irregularities.[11][12] In December 2020, Jones was one of four state Senate Republicans who signed a petition calling on the Georgia General Assembly to overrule the outcome of democratic elections within the state and "take back the power to appoint electors."[11] The petition called on Governor Brian Kemp to convene a special session of the legislature to award Georgia's 16 electors to Trump, who narrowly lost the state.[13] Kemp denied the request.[13]
On January 5, 2021, hours before the U.S. Senate certified the electoral votes from the 2020 election, Jones brought a letter signed by himself and 16 other State Legislators attempting to delay the certification.[14] While Jones had a private audience with Vice President Mike Pence that evening he decided against delivering the letter instead leaving it with his Uber driver.[14]
On January 19, 2021, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan stripped Jones of his chairmanship and membership of the state Senate Insurance and Labor Committee.[12][15] Over a series of months in 2021, Jones continued to question the results of the presidential election in Georgia.[16] In July 2021, Jones was featured at a pro-Trump convention in Rome, Georgia, centering on Trump's false claims of election fraud.[7]
In January 2022, the Justice Department began a criminal investigation into Jones' as one of the false electors who attempted to forge electoral certificates for the State of Georgia after the 2020 election.[17] In July, 2022, Fulton County, Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis announced that she had sent a target letter to Jones and two other Republican officials, warning them that they face indictment in connection with the fake electors scheme, which was part of the attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.[18]
Butts County Water & Sewage Authority
Jones has been a member of the board of directors of the Butts County Water and Sewage Authority since 2009.[19] While a board member, he voted to raise water and sewer rates.[20]
Campaign for lieutenant governor
Jones announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in August 2021.[21] During his campaign, Jones continued to cast doubt on the validity of the 2020 presidential election.[22] Donald Trump endorsed Jones.[22][23]
In 2022, the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission fined Jones $1,000 for filming and tweeting a campaign video the previous year before filing paperwork necessary to accept campaign contributions and make campaign consent orders. The Commission's consent order said that Jones' campaign had accepted responsibility for the error.[24] Between February and May 2022, Jones used his family's private aircraft to travel to campaign events, without reporting the flights' costs as expenses and in-kind contributions on disclosure forms; Jones' campaign said that he intended to report the costs as a single line item after the primary election was over, although Georgia law requires expenses and contributions to be disclosed as they are made.[25][26]
In the May 2022 Republican primary, Jones defeated Butch Miller, with Jones receiving 50.1% of the vote, Miller 31.1%, Mack McGregor 11.3%, and Jeanne Seaver 7.5%.[27] Obtaining a majority, he narrowly avoided a runoff election.[28] Of Georgia's 159 counties, Jones received the most votes in 153 counties, and Miller received the most votes in six counties.[27]
References
- ^ "Alumni Information: William Burton Jones". Woodward Academy. Archived from the original on 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ a b Jones still mulling bid for governor, Valdosta Daily Times (April 20, 2017).
- ^ Maya T. Prabhu, Republican Burt Jones officially launches lieutenant governor campaign, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (August 10, 2021): "oil executive Burt Jones"
- ^ Maya T. Prabhu, Burt Jones will run for Georgia lieutenant governor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (August 21, 2021): "A state senator and wealthy oil executive who has spent the past nine months questioning the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election"
- ^ Greg Bluestein, Georgia 2018: Burt Jones won't run for higher office, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 8, 2017).
- ^ a b Michael Davis, Jones Petroleum celebrating 50 years, Jackson Progress-Argus (June 26, 2018).
- ^ a b Greg Bluestein, Georgia Republicans center campaigns on false claims of election fraud, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (July 14, 2021).
- ^ GOP State Sen. Burt Jones Launches 'Underdog' Lt. Gov. Campaign, Georgia Public Broadcasting (August 27, 2021).
- ^ Learn About JP Capital & Insurance, JP Capital & Insurance, Inc. (accessed September 23, 2021).
- ^ "Georgia State Senator Burt Jones (Republican – 25)". Georgia State Senate. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
- ^ a b Greg Bluestein, James Salzer and Mark Niesse (December 8, 2020). "In Georgia, 'concerted' GOP pushback blocks Trump attempts to overturn election". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ a b Jim Galloway, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, and Patricia Murphy (January 13, 2021). "The Jolt: Election deniers in state Senate stripped of chairmanships".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Greg Bluestein & James Salzer Kemp tells lawmakers they can't overturn results of Georgia's election, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (December 6, 2020).
- ^ a b Wickert, David; Bluestein, Greg; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Inside the campaign to undermine Georgia's election". ajc. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia. "The Jolt: The new power players in Georgia's new politics". Political Insider (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ Maya T. Prabhu, Republican Burt Jones officially launches lieutenant governor campaign, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (August 10, 2021): "Jones, who has spent the past nine months questioning the results of Georgia's presidential election in which his candidate, Donald Trump, lost but spouted conspiracy theories that the election was stolen"
- ^ "Why fake Trump 'electors' from Georgia could face criminal scrutiny". ajc. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ Fausset, Richard; Hakim, Danny (July 15, 2022). "Prosecutor Warns Georgia Officials They May Face Charges in Trump Inquiry: The investigation could prove to be one of the most perilous legal problems facing the former president and his allies". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Minutes of Board Meetings". Butts County, et al, Water & Sewer Authority. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ Jeff Amy, GOP strife, Democratic crowd in Georgia lt. governor race, Associated Press (May 4, 2022).
- ^ "Georgia Sen. Burt Jones launches bid for Lieutenant Governor". FOX 5 Atlanta. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- ^ a b Jeff Amy, Trump backs Jones in Georgia, renews support for Walker, Associated Press (September 2, 2021).
- ^ Trump pick Jones wins Georgia lieutenant governor primary, Associated Press (May 27, 2022).
- ^ Ethics complaint against Lt. Governor candidate Burt Jones ends with $1K fine, WMAZ (March 21, 2022).
- ^ Maya T. Prabhu, LG candidate Jones didn't report private campaign flights in disclosures, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 16, 2022).
- ^ Lieutenant governor candidate Jones hasn't disclosed flights, Associated Press (May 16, 2022).
- ^ a b Georgia Lieutenant Governor Primary Election Results, New York Times (May 24, 2022).
- ^ Mark Niesse, Jones wins primary for Ga. lieutenant governor, solidifying GOP ticket, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 27, 2022).
