VERNON JONES FOR SENATE

I am the Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County, Georgia, overseeing a $2.6 billion budget in the state's third most populous county.Elected countywide, I am the youngest person ever elected to the position. I manage 7,000 employees and direct the day-to-day county operations and also preside over the twice-monthly meetings of the Board of Commissioners.DeKalb County is among a select group of 37 counties out of nearly 4,000 to hold dual AAA bond credit rating from Moody's and Standard & Poors. This is a distinction earned under my Administration. Additionally, during the first 90 days in office, I spearheaded a skillful campaign that resulted in the countywide passage of a $125 million bond issue to buy land, greenspace and natural areas for DeKalb citizens. In 2005 I received voter approval on three additional bond referendums totaling $225 million for land preservation, transportation improvements, and new libraries.Some of my other major achievements include the adoption of a progressive ethics bill that deals with potential conflicts of interest of all senior executives, a comprehensive series of quality improvements for residential building standards, an institution of mandated customer service training for all county employees and adoption of a five-year plan to manage and improve services for senior citizens in DeKalb County.Prior to my election as CEO, I served eight years in the Georgia General Assembly as a State Representative from DeKalb County. During my tenure, I held positions on the powerful Appropriations and Insurance committees, and he also served as secretary of the Health and Ecology Committee and chairman of the Health Professions Subcommittee.I recently received a certificate from one of the executive programs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. I serve as a member of the boards of the DeKalb Board of Health, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the DeKalb Library Board, the DeKalb Pension Board, and I am a former member of Emory University and North Carolina Central Univeristy's Board of Visitors.I am native of North Carolina, and I graduated from North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C., earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. I have formerly held leadership positions at MCI WorldCom and BellSouth Cellular. While with BellSouth, I was part of the information technology team that built a cellular system in Montevideo, Uruguay.