# Brenda Jones (politician)

Brenda B. Jones (born October 24, 1959) is an American politician who served as a member of the Detroit City Council from 2006 to 2022, and as the president of the City Council from 2014 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Jones also briefly served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district from November 29, 2018, to January 3, 2019. She won the 2018 special election to succeed John Conyers following his resignation in December 2017, and was succeeded by Rashida Tlaib. She ran for the seat again in 2020, losing the Democratic primary to Tlaib by a wide margin.

## Early life

Brenda B. Jones was born on October 24, 1959, in Birmingham, Alabama, and her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, during the Great Migration. She attended public schools in Detroit, where she graduated from Cass Technical High School and later received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Wayne State University. She also earned a Graduate certificate from Wayne State University. Jones worked for Michigan Bell and was later elected as a union president of the Communications Workers of America Local 4004 in Detroit. She was appointed as an executive on the boards of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Detroit Transportation Commission.

## Politics
### Detroit City Council

In 2005, Jones was elected to the Detroit City Council after placing ninth in the general election where nine seats were available and was reelected in 2009, 2013, and 2017. In 2015, the council voted for her to serve as the President of the Detroit City Council with five voting in favor of her and four voting in favor of incumbent President Saunteel Jenkins.
Jones did not seek reelection in 2021.

## U.S. House of Representatives
### Elections
#### 2018–2019

On December 5, 2017, Representative John Conyers resigned after sexual harassment allegations were made against him and that he had secretly used taxpayer money to settle a harassment claim. A special election was called to replace Conyers and Jones narrowly won the Democratic primary for the special election–the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. No Republican qualified to run. Conyers had held the seat since 1965 (it had been numbered as the 1st from 1965 to 1993 and as the 14th from 1993 to 2013), and his lowest winning percentage was 77 percent.
However, in the Democratic primary for the general election, Jones was defeated by former state representative Rashida Tlaib. Prior to the general election, Jones filed to run as an independent write-in candidate, prompting criticism.
During the course of the election campaign, questions arose as to whether Jones could serve in her Detroit City Council post concurrently with serving in Congress, an unprecedented situation up to that point. An opinion by the Detroit Corporation Counsel, written in August 2018, stated that it was likely possible for Jones to legally serve in both capacities based on state law. The Counsel advised that the United States House Committee on Ethics be consulted to clarify federal and House rules.
In the November 6 special election, Jones won with 86.8 percent of the vote, facing only a Taxpayers Party candidate as opposition. On the same day, she received 633 votes in the regular election for a full two-year term.
Speaker Paul Ryan delayed swearing Jones in until November 29, after receiving guidance from the House Ethics Committee on how Jones could minimize conflicts of interest. She introduced two bills and cast 77 votes during her five-week tenure in the House of Representatives.

#### 2020

On March 25, 2020, Jones filed to run again in the Democratic primary for Michigan's 13th congressional district against Tlaib. Tlaib was considered possibly vulnerable to a primary challenge, due to her status as a democratic socialist, divisive rhetoric and attacks made on many popular national Democrats. For example, Tlaib booed former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton. However, Jones' campaign was wracked by allegations of financial misconduct. Jones decisively lost the primary election to Tlaib 66%-34% on August 4. The margin of Jones's loss was considered to be large.

## Electoral history

2005 Detroit City Council primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Cockrel Jr. (incumbent) | 56,107 | 6.08% |
| | Nonpartisan | Maryann Mahaffey (incumbent) | 51,180 | 5.55% |
| | Nonpartisan | JoAnn Watson (incumbent) | 46,449 | 5.04% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sheila Cockrel (incumbent) | 42,123 | 4.57% |
| | Nonpartisan | Barbara-Rose Collins (incumbent) | 39,450 | 4.28% |
| | Nonpartisan | Alberta Tinsley-Talabi (incumbent) | 39,369 | 4.27% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kwame Kenyatta | 36,563 | 3.96% |
| | Nonpartisan | Monica Conyers | 28,495 | 3.09% |
| | Nonpartisan | Martha Reeves | 27,313 | 2.96% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ortheia Barnes | 23,114 | 2.51% |
| | Nonpartisan | Jai-Lee Dearing | 22,485 | 2.44% |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones | 20,015 | 2.17% |
| | Nonpartisan | Hilmer Kenty | 19,270 | 2.09% |
| | Nonpartisan | Keith B. Butler | 18,578 | 2.01% |
| | Nonpartisan | Thomas Stallworth III (incumbent) | 16,260 | 1.76% |
| | Nonpartisan | Alonzo W. Bates (incumbent) | 15,137 | 1.64% |
| | Nonpartisan | Tia Tia Davis | 13,790 | 1.50% |
| | Nonpartisan | Bettie Cook Scott | 13,693 | 1.48% |
| | Nonpartisan | Roy McCalister, Jr. | 11,931 | 1.29% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joan Gist | 11,907 | 1.29% |
| | Nonpartisan | James Edwards | 10,529 | 1.14% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ralph Simpson | 10,318 | 1.12% |
| | Nonpartisan | Maureen Taylor | 9,340 | 1.01% |
| | Nonpartisan | LaMar Lemmons III | 9,268 | 1.01% |
| | Nonpartisan | Devon Jackson | 8,840 | 0.96% |
| | Nonpartisan | Beverly Kindle-Walker | 8,763 | 0.95% |
| | Nonpartisan | Marquita Reese | 8,529 | 0.92% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joe Young | 8,067 | 0.87% |
| | Nonpartisan | Vanessa Jones | 7,805 | 0.85% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kevin White | 7,682 | 0.83% |
| | Nonpartisan | Keith Hollowell | 7,362 | 0.80% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kerwin Wimberley | 7,283 | 0.79% |
| | Nonpartisan | Terry Davis | 6,723 | 0.73% |
| | Nonpartisan | Richard Shelby | 6,647 | 0.72% |
| | Nonpartisan | Otis Knapp Lee | 6,590 | 0.71% |
| | Nonpartisan | Frank Archer | 6,490 | 0.70% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ernest Flagg | 6,381 | 0.69% |
| | Nonpartisan | Barry Blackwell | 6,291 | 0.68% |
| | Nonpartisan | Orlando Maddox | 6,224 | 0.68% |
| | Nonpartisan | James Wadsworth III | 5,969 | 0.65% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sigmunt J. Szczepkowski | 5,801 | 0.63% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sarah Snow | 5,715 | 0.62% |
| | Nonpartisan | Karinda Washington | 5,680 | 0.62% |
| | Nonpartisan | Karen Wahls | 5,599 | 0.61% |
| | Nonpartisan | Palencia Mobley | 5,227 | 0.57% |
| | Nonpartisan | Lee Yancy | 5,071 | 0.55% |
| | Nonpartisan | Claud Dent | 5,015 | 0.54% |
| | Nonpartisan | Randolph Williams | 4,995 | 0.54% |
| | Nonpartisan | Dennis Vaughn | 4,599 | 0.50% |
| | Nonpartisan | Gwendolyn Mingo | 4,186 | 0.45% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joseph Vaughn | 4,164 | 0.45% |
| | Nonpartisan | Harry Lewis | 4,088 | 0.44% |
| | Nonpartisan | Earl Smith | 4,064 | 0.44% |
| | Nonpartisan | D. Etta Wilcoxon | 4,020 | 0.44% |
| | Nonpartisan | Craig Davis | 3,889 | 0.42% |
| | Nonpartisan | Cheryl Hughley Clark | 3,864 | 0.42% |
| | Nonpartisan | William Miller | 3,630 | 0.39% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kyra Joy Hope | 3,606 | 0.39% |
| | Nonpartisan | Delbert Jennings | 3,530 | 0.38% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joanne Wormley-Corley | 3,464 | 0.38% |
| | Nonpartisan | Barbara Herard | 3,359 | 0.36% |
| | Nonpartisan | Cheryl Myhand | 3,299 | 0.36% |
| | Nonpartisan | Loren Monroe | 3,195 | 0.35% |
| | Nonpartisan | Keith Lee | 3,087 | 0.34% |
| | Nonpartisan | Dana Cleveland | 2,932 | 0.32% |
| | Nonpartisan | Anthony Marshall | 2,911 | 0.32% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Gray | 2,907 | 0.32% |
| | Nonpartisan | Maxine Mickens | 2,907 | 0.32% |
| | Nonpartisan | Rick Scott | 2,824 | 0.31% |
| | Nonpartisan | Rogelio Landin | 2,712 | 0.29% |
| | Nonpartisan | Nathanial Smith Jr. | 2,610 | 0.28% |
| | Nonpartisan | Carol Edwards | 2,580 | 0.28% |
| | Nonpartisan | Patric Smith | 2,578 | 0.28% |
| | Nonpartisan | Curtis Harris | 2,489 | 0.27% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sandra Hall-Harmon | 2,411 | 0.26% |
| | Nonpartisan | Louis Anderson | 2,372 | 0.26% |
| | Nonpartisan | Lisa Milewski-Randles | 2,367 | 0.26% |
| | Nonpartisan | Walter Hart Jr. | 2,342 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kelvin Davis | 2,298 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Chevis Spratt Jr. | 2,297 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ebony Godwin | 2,290 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Jeff Lewis | 2,275 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Marino Taylor | 2,269 | 0.25% |
| | Nonpartisan | Evelyn Louis | 2,212 | 0.24% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ricky Spann | 2,183 | 0.24% |
| | Nonpartisan | Angel D. Mason | 2,151 | 0.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Angela Daniels | 2,121 | 0.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Elizabeth Osorio-Luna | 2,115 | 0.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Angles Hunt | 2,111 | 0.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Boyd Morson | 2,081 | 0.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Mattie Jones | 2,053 | 0.22% |
| | Nonpartisan | Vera Kidd | 2,052 | 0.22% |
| | Nonpartisan | Rubin Mann III | 2,040 | 0.22% |
| | Nonpartisan | John Mackay | 2,006 | 0.22% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joseph W. Holt | 1,941 | 0.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | Brian Ellison | 1,923 | 0.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | Rujeania Vance | 1,911 | 0.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | Adrienne Kennedy | 1,910 | 0.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | Marie Gunter | 1,909 | 0.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | S. Denise Ratliff | 1,842 | 0.20% |
| | Nonpartisan | Verdinna Jenkins | 1,729 | 0.19% |
| | Nonpartisan | Charles Stedman | 1,705 | 0.19% |
| | Nonpartisan | Larry Allen | 1,702 | 0.18% |
| | Nonpartisan | Flora McDougal | 1,676 | 0.18% |
| | Nonpartisan | Stanley Shelby | 1,638 | 0.18% |
| | Nonpartisan | B. Thrasher Whisenhunt | 1,539 | 0.17% |
| | Nonpartisan | Irma Jaxon | 1,497 | 0.16% |
| | Nonpartisan | Irin Montgomery | 1,483 | 0.16% |
| | Nonpartisan | Nathan Henry | 1,472 | 0.16% |
| | Nonpartisan | Earnesteen Tyler | 1,309 | 0.14% |
| | Nonpartisan | Al Allison | 1,306 | 0.14% |
| | Nonpartisan | Damian Mitchell | 1,286 | 0.14% |
| | Nonpartisan | DeLonda A. Browner | 1,277 | 0.14% |
| | Nonpartisan | Nacio Thomas | 1,239 | 0.13% |
| | Nonpartisan | Forest Holman | 1,216 | 0.13% |
| | Nonpartisan | Renelius Bell | 1,185 | 0.13% |
| | Nonpartisan | Albert Burden | 1,143 | 0.12% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joe Yelder | 1,117 | 0.12% |
| | Nonpartisan | Dobey Gavin | 1,027 | 0.11% |
| | Nonpartisan | Write-ins | 923 | 0.10% |
| | Nonpartisan | Caleb Coan III | 716 | 0.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 922,594 | 100.00% |
2005 Detroit City Council election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Cockrel Jr. (incumbent) | 152,318 | 9.31% |
| | Nonpartisan | Monica Conyers | 123,264 | 7.54% |
| | Nonpartisan | JoAnn Watson (incumbent) | 122,060 | 7.46% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sheila Cockrel (incumbent) | 119,183 | 7.29% |
| | Nonpartisan | Barbara-Rose Collins (incumbent) | 116,329 | 7.11% |
| | Nonpartisan | Kwame Kenyatta | 113,063 | 6.91% |
| | Nonpartisan | Alberta Tinsley-Talabi (incumbent) | 108,664 | 6.64% |
| | Nonpartisan | Martha Reeves | 92,421 | 5.65% |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones | 90,669 | 5.54% |
| | Nonpartisan | Jai-Lee Dearing | 87,299 | 5.34% |
| | Nonpartisan | Ortheia Barnes | 75,299 | 4.60% |
| | Nonpartisan | Hilmer Kenty | 72,874 | 4.46% |
| | Nonpartisan | Keith B. Butler | 69,384 | 4.24% |
| | Nonpartisan | Tia Tia Davis | 67,877 | 4.15% |
| | Nonpartisan | Thomas Stallworth III (incumbent) | 67,216 | 4.11% |
| | Nonpartisan | Bettie Cook Scott | 65,209 | 3.99% |
| | Nonpartisan | Alonzo W. Bates (incumbent) | 57,473 | 3.51% |
| | Nonpartisan | Maryann Mahaffey (incumbent) | 34,853 | 2.13% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,635,455 | 100.00% |
2013 Detroit City Council at-large primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Saunteel Jenkins (incumbent) | 51,917 | 34.23% |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones (incumbent) | 45,524 | 30.02% |
| | Nonpartisan | David Bullock | 15,734 | 10.38% |
| | Nonpartisan | Roy McCalister Jr. | 13,397 | 8.83% |
| | Nonpartisan | Monica Lewis-Patrick | 9,751 | 6.43% |
| | Nonpartisan | Angles Hunt | 5,513 | 3.64% |
| | Nonpartisan | Cedric Banks | 5,317 | 3.51% |
| | Nonpartisan | Jessica M. Rayford-Clark | 4,507 | 2.97% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 151,660 | 100.00% |
2013 Detroit City Council at-large election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones (incumbent) | 76,978 | 34.55% |
| | Nonpartisan | Saunteel Jenkins (incumbent) | 76,941 | 34.54% |
| | Nonpartisan | David Bullock | 39,000 | 17.51% |
| | Nonpartisan | Roy McCalister Jr. | 29,855 | 13.40% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 222,774 | 100.00% |
2017 Detroit City Council at-large primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones (incumbent) | 46,110 | 45.29% |
| | Nonpartisan | Janeé Ayers (incumbent) | 25,742 | 25.28% |
| | Nonpartisan | Mary D. Waters | 17,190 | 16.88% |
| | Nonpartisan | Beverly Kindle-Walker | 6,587 | 6.47% |
| | Nonpartisan | Alisa McKinney | 6,185 | 6.08% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 101,814 | 100.00% |
2017 Detroit City Council at-large election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Brenda Jones (incumbent) | 71,306 | 42.79% |
| | Nonpartisan | Janeé Ayers (incumbent) | 48,103 | 28.87% |
| | Nonpartisan | Mary D. Waters | 32,717 | 19.63% |
| | Nonpartisan | Beverly Kindle-Walker | 14,522 | 8.71% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 166,648 | 100.00% |
2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district special Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Brenda Jones | 32,769 | 37.75% |
| | Democratic | Rashida Tlaib | 31,121 | 35.85% |
| | Democratic | William R. Wild | 13,174 | 15.18% |
| | Democratic | Ian Conyers | 9,749 | 11.23% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 86,813 | 100.00% |
2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district Democratic primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Rashida Tlaib | 27,841 | 31.17% |
| | Democratic | Brenda Jones | 26,941 | 30.16% |
| | Democratic | William R. Wild | 12,613 | 14.12% |
| | Democratic | Coleman Young II | 11,172 | 12.51% |
| | Democratic | Ian Conyers | 5,866 | 6.57% |
| | Democratic | Shanelle Jackson | 4,853 | 5.43% |
| | Democratic | Kimberly Hill Knott (write-in) | 33 | 0.04% |
| | Democratic | Royce Kinniebrew (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 89,321 | 100.00% |
2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district special election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Brenda Jones | 169,330 | 86.84% | +9.74% |
| | Constitution | Marc J. Sosnowski | 17,302 | 8.87% | +8.87% |
| | Green | D. Etta Wilcoxon | 8,319 | 4.27% | +4.27% |
| | Republican | David A. Dudenhoefer (write-in) | 36 | 0.02% | −15.71% |
| | Independent | Jonathan Lee Pommerville (write-in) | 5 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| | Independent | Danetta L. Simpson (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 194,993 | 100.00% | |
2018 Michigan Thirteenth Congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Rashida Tlaib | 165,355 | 86.84% | +9.74% |
| | Working Class | Sam Johnson | 22,186 | 11.30% | +11.30% |
| | Green | D. Etta Wilcoxon | 7,980 | 4.07% | −0.27% |
| | Independent | Brenda Jones (write-in) | 633 | 0.32% | −86.52% |
| | Republican | David A. Dudenhoefer (write-in) | 75 | 0.04% | +0.02% |
| | Independent | Jonathan Lee Pommerville (write-in) | 61 | 0.03% | +0.03% |
| | Independent | Danetta L. Simpson (write-in) | 3 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| | Independent | John Conyers III (write-in) | 3 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| | Independent | Royce Kinniebrew (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| | Independent | Kimberly Hill Knott (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| | Independent | Jim Casha (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | +0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 196,299 | 100.00% | |