 He was elected as chief executive officer of Dekalb County, Georgia in 2000, winning 64 % of the vote, and was re-elected in 2004 with 54 % of the vote. Jones is the first African American to serve as CEO of the county, and the youngest ever elected in the county. In April 2001, shortly after Jones became CEO, he voted, along with five other DeKalb County Commissioners, to offer life and health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of gay and unmarried County employees. DeKalb was the first county in Georgia to offer such benefits. During his administration, Dekalb County established the first local Homeland Security Office in 2001. Under Jones, DeKalb County approved creation of a new senior center, increased funding for roads, libraries, and park improvements while maintaining a balanced budget, and increasing the County's credit rating to AAA. As CEO, Jones promoted and achieved passage of a $ 125 million bond referendum that allowed for the acquisition of 2,735 acre expansion of the DeKalb County's green space, increasing the county's parks and green space by 70 %. He requested and received Congressional designation of Arabia Mountain as a National Heritage Area. Jones was also primarily responsible for creation of Dekalb County ’ s first economic development department, which generated $ 4 billion in new investments.
