Danny Jones (politician)

Danny Jones
Mayor of Charleston, West Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office June 1, 2003
Preceded by	Jay Goldman
Personal details
Born	(1951-07-10) July 10, 1951 (age 65)
Nationality	American
Political party	Independent (2016-present) Republican (1971-2016)

Danny Jones is an American businessman and politician, and the current mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, currently serving his fourth term in office.

Jones grew up in Charleston and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He had a variety of jobs before becoming an elected official. Jones served a term in the West Virginia House of Delegates and a term as Sheriff of Kanawha County before being elected mayor of Charleston.

Jones was a member of the Republican Party for 45 years, but switched his party affiliation to "unaffiliated" in 2016, citing the party's drift to the right and his opposition to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Jones grew up in the South Hills neighborhood of Charleston. He attended Greenbrier Military School and graduated from George Washington High School.

Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971 and was deployed to Vietnam. After returning to the United States, Jones worked in a variety of jobs, including as a bartender, bar owner, bouncer, gravedigger, and radio talk show host on WQBE-FM.

Jones first registered as a Republican in 1971. Beginning in 1984, he won a string of 12 primary and general elections as a Republican.

Jones was sheriff of Kanawha County, serving one term in office from 1984 to 1988. Jones was the first Republican to be elected as Kanawha County sheriff in more than thirty years; at the time, registered Democratic voters outnumbered registered Republican voters 2-1 in the county. As sheriff, Jones oversaw 130 full- and part-time employees, and managed the county jail, county law enforcement, and the county tax department. Jones cited the reorganization of the tax department as one of his accomplishments as sheriff. He chose not to seek reelection.

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