Tishaura Jones

Tishaura Jones (born March 10, 1972) is the Treasurer of the City of St. Louis. She served as a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the years 2008 to 2012. She represented the 63rd District, which encompasses a large portion of downtown St. Louis.^[1] She served as House Assistant Minority Floor leader during the 96th Missouri General Assembly and was the first woman to do so.

Personal history

Tishaura Jones is the daughter of former St. Louis City Comptroller Virvus Jones. After graduation from Affton Senior High School in 1990, she attended Hampton University, earning a Bachelor's degree in Finance in 1994. Jones later earned a Master's degree in Health administration from Saint Louis University School of Public Health in 2001.^[2] When not involved with her legislative duties Representative Jones is Vice-President of Public Finance at Blaylock Robert Van, LLC.^[3] She's the mother of one child, a son, Aden. Jones was named a 2014 Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow.^[4]

Political history

Jones' political career began in 2002, when she was appointed Democratic committeewoman of the 8th Ward for the city of St. Louis. Since 2004, Jones has served as Sergeant-at-Arms for the St. Louis City Central Democratic Committee.^[5] Jones was first elected to the Missouri House in November 2008, when she defeated Independent candidate, Nels Williams, 85.4% to 14.6%. There was no Republican challenger for the seat. Jones ran unopposed in 2010, to win her second term. She made Missouri political history in November 2010, by becoming the first African-American elected to serve as an assistant minority leader. She currently serves as the Treasurer of the City of St. Louis.^[6]

Committees: Representative Jones serves on the following committees:

• Elementary and Secondary Education
• Health Insurance
• Special Standing Committee on Election Contests

Treasurer

Before winning the office of St. Louis Treasurer, Tishaura Jones stated that her first step would be to bring in a private auditing firm, calling to get rid of the "ghost workers" and a "total house cleaning".^[7] Jones promised "complete transparency, with budgets, investments and staff salaries posted online".^[7] Quarterly investments and budgets are now located on the St. Louis Treasury website.^[8] The city's budget is available through the Budget Division of the St. Louis website.^[9]

Tishaura Jones held to that promise; within her first month, Jones relieved five employees, in correlation to the outside auditing being done.^[10] One of the employees relieved was Fred W. Robinson, who the FBI labeled a "ghost employee",^[11][12] who was convicted of wire fraud charges and submitting false time sheets, and sentenced to two years in prison. On the day Robinson was terminated, prior to Robinson's conviction, Jones stated, “Transparency is a double-edged sword. The more you reveal, the more questions are asked.”^[13]

Mayoral election

Jones is running for Mayor of St. Louis in the 2017 election.^[14]

References