Jan Jones Blackhurst
Jan Laverty Jones | |
|---|---|
| 19th Mayor of Las Vegas | |
| In office 1991–1999 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Lurie |
| Succeeded by | Oscar Goodman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 16, 1949 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
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Jan Laverty Jones (born March 16, 1949) is an American businesswoman and politician. She is a former mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1991 to 1999. She was the first woman to serve as mayor of Las Vegas. During her eight-year tenure, Las Vegas was the fastest growing city in America and was named the No. 1 city in the nation for entrepreneurs by Inc. magazine.
Jones is born in Los Angeles, California, she graduated from Stanford University in 1971. She became a well-known figure in Las Vegas in the 1980s, appearing as a spokeswoman in television commercials for a supermarket chain, and later a car dealership owned by her then-husband, Fletcher Jones Jr. In 1991 she ran for an open seat for mayor, and served two terms. Jones ran for Nevada governor twice, losing significantly in the Democratic primary to then incumbent Bob Miller in 1994, and losing the general election in 1998 to Kenny Guinn. In 1999, she chose not to run for re-election as mayor. The same year, she was voted the Least Effective Public Official in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's annual Reader's Poll.[1]
Jones is currently Senior Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs[2] with Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment and sits on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce. She is married to Dana Blackhurst, a well known education advocate for learning disabilities who has headed several schools over the years.
Jones is the former chairwoman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the former director of the Nevada Resorts Association and has held senior positions with the Nevada state arm of the Democratic National Committee. She currently serves as a director of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce and the Women's Campaign Fund in Washington, D.C. She is also a member of the Women's Leadership Board at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Jones has been honored by the American Diabetes Association and the "I Have A Dream" Foundation, and she was named Humanitarian of the Year in 1998 by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.