Shevrin Jones

Shevrin D. "Shev" Jones (born October 12, 1983) is an American politician from the state of Florida. He was elected to the Florida State Senate in 2020 to represent the 35th District. He previously was a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 101st District, which includes southeastern Broward County since 2012.

Shevrin D. Jones
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 35th district
Assumed office
November 3, 2020
Preceded byOscar Braynon
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 101st district
In office
November 6, 2012 – November 3, 2020
Preceded byRedistricted
Succeeded byMarie Woodson
Personal details
Born (1983-10-12) October 12, 1983
Miami Gardens, Florida
CitizenshipUSA
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materFlorida A&M University (B.S.)
Florida Atlantic University (M.S.), (Ph.D)
ProfessionEducator, Public Servant, Consensus Builder, Executive Director, Florida Reading Corps

Jones is the first openly gay Black person and first openly LGBT Black person elected to the Florida Legislature. Term-limited from his position, he ran for the Florida Senate in a crowded primary for District 35 facing no Republican opposition in the general election.

History

Jones was born in Hollywood to Eric Jones, the former Mayor of West Park. He attended Florida A&M University, where he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology in 2006. After graduation, he returned to South Florida, where he taught Advanced Placement Chemistry in Broward County Public Schools, and then worked as a Biology instructor at Florida Atlantic University High School. In 2017 Jones went on to obtain his Masters of Education from Florida Atlantic University. Jones is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Educational Leadership at Florida Atlantic University.

Growing up in Carol City, Jones' parents instilled in him and his brothers the values of education, faith, and service to the community. Jones recognized from an early age the power of education as the great equalizer. Such a foundation drove Jones to pursue the art of teaching in order to help students reach their full potential.

While working as an A.P. Chemistry teacher at Florida Atlantic University High School in Broward County, Florida, Jones' leadership placed the school as first in the state of Florida for its 100-percent pass rate on the Science End of Course (EOC) Exam. Jones continued on to found L.E.A.D. Nation, a top South Florida nonprofit organization that is committed to youth leadership development and social entrepreneurship training.

Jones' firsthand experience with inequality among education and society at large led him to enter public service. In 2010, he ran for a seat on the Broward County Commission in District 8, running against Barbara Sharief and Angelo Castillo. Jones attacked Sharief and Castillo in a mailer over the fact that they would have to resign their positions in local government if they were elected, declaring, "Both of my opponents are incumbent politicians who have abandoned their oath to serve us for the full term for which they campaigned. Now the taxpayers of Pembroke Pines and Miramar will have to pay thousand[s] more for [s]pecial Election[s] needed to replace them. That's just wrong."[1] Jones came in third place, receiving 17% of the vote to Sharief's 62% and Castillo's 21%.[2]

In 2018, Jones came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay black person and first openly LGBT black person to serve in the Florida Legislature.[3]

Florida House of Representatives

In 2012, after the Florida House of Representatives districts were redrawn, Jones opted to run in the newly created 101st District. He initially was set to face Pembroke Park Mayor Ashira Mohammed and Hollywood City Commissioner Beam Furr in the Democratic primary,[4] but both Mohammed and Furr dropped out, and Jones won election to the House unopposed in both the primary and general elections. Jones was re-elected to his second term in the legislature in 2014 without opposition. In 2020 Senator Jones was elected to the Senate and as of today, Jones proudly serves Florida's 35th district, which includes portions of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Tenure

During his first step into office in 2012, Jones championed meaningful bipartisan legislation, that included two consecutive bills to secure dignity for incarcerated women; statewide expansion of a clean syringe exchange program; safety and oversight for athletic coaches that work for youth athletic teams; and ensuring transparency and accountability via police body cameras.

After the 2021 Hialeah shooting, Jones called on Florida governor Ron DeSantis to meet with Democrats and discuss gun control and gun violence.[5]

Senator Jones served on President Barack Obama College Promise Task Force. Jones is also an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Young Elected Officials Network, Leadership Florida Connect-Class 32, Leadership Broward Class 27, the Council of State Governments TOLLS fellowship program, and Millennial Action Project's Florida Future Caucus.

Senator Jones has been recognized for his continuous service in the community on numerous occasions, including the acknowledgement at Florida Young Democrat of the Year. In addition, Jones has also received recognition for Broward Parent Teacher Association's Legislator of the Year, a Congressional Political Institute Honoree, ICABA's 100 Most accomplished Caribbean Americans, Gold Coast Magazine's "Top 40 under 40", and Legacy Magazine's South Florida's "50 Most Powerful and Influential Black Leaders."

Senator Jones currently serves as the vice chair for the Education committee as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. Including the Finance and Tax committee, the Health Policy committee, the transportation committee, and the Joint Administration Procedures Committee.


References
  1. Wallman, Brittany (May 2, 2012). "VIDEO: Shevrin Jones running for state House". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  2. "2010 Primary Election". Broward County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  3. Ring, Trudy (2018). "Florida Lawmaker Comes Out, Says He's Now 'Living My Truth'". Advocate.com. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  4. Wallman, Brittany (May 7, 2012). "Shevrin Jones and Pembroke Park Mayor Mohammed square off for state House". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  5. "Authorities ask public to help identify gunmen in deadly Miami-area shootings". CBS News. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
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