In 2018 Alabamians will head to the polls to decide who will serve as the next governor. The list of declared candidates so far includes familiar names like Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle and evangelist Scott Dawson, and the bids are sure to keep coming over the next few months. But one individual that has already decided to throw his name in the ring is not such a household name.
Josh Jones, a Birmingham businessman and Jackson, Alabama native, officially announced his candidacy for governor on Tuesday, June 6. Prior to his official announcement, he made a $235,000 loan to his campaign on May 31, according to AL.com. Jones will run as a Republican.
“The people of Alabama are fed up with the same politicians running for different offices every four years,” Jones told the Franklin Free Press. “I’m not a politician and I don’t aspire to be one. I’m in this to make this state a better place for everyone, and that’s the only reason.”
By all accounts, Jones is a political newbie. He has never run for political office at any level in the past. He has made a career in the medical technology industry; not a bad living by any standard, but he has decided to put his private career on hold to seek a public one, even if it happens to be short-lived.
Jones says his bid for governor will be the first and last time he runs for any elected political position.
“If I win, I’m committed to potentially serving eight years,” he said. “If this doesn’t work out, then we’ll go back home, and in four years, I’ll be working in the private sector and spending time with my family. This is the first and last time I’m doing this.”
Jones, who coins himself a statesman, says career politicians do not ultimately represent the people as they should.
“The people that sit in the governor’s house and hold office all throughout this state – the career politicians – it’s a game to them,” he said. “Being a politician is their job, it’s their life, it’s how they pay their mortgage. And because being a politician is their livelihood, all they’re thinking about is how they can maintain it. They’re less concerned with what the people need and more concerned about how they can get re-elected.”
Jones says he believes the people of Alabama are tired of the career politicians and he says he can be one to shake things up in Montgomery.
“I truly believe that Alabamians are ready for someone fresh and new,” he said. “Knowing you’re going to go home when the job is done, it affords a clarity of mind that career politicians can’t achieve. And that clarity of mind allows me to serve morally and to serve the people, not corporations or special interests.”
Jones says there are three key issues affecting Alabama, and those will be the basis of his campaign. The first, he says, is the “culture” in Montgomery.
“People are tired of political-speak, of settling for managers instead of leaders, and allowing our state to sit at the bottom of every meaningful ranking,” Jones said in a campaign press release.
In his interview with the Franklin Free Press, Jones said the culture in Montgomery is “toxic” and that Alabama needs someone with a moral compass to lead selflessly and with integrity.
Pointing to the likes of ex-governor Robert Bentley and former and now imprisoned Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard as the most recent examples of moral insufficiency at the state level, Jones was asked why voters should believe him when he campaigns on the same platform.
“Talk is cheap, isn’t it?” he said. “Look. We have a year for the people of Alabama to get to know me and my family, and I think the people that know me know the type of person I am.
I am an Alabamian. I want to do the right thing for every Alabamian, and I want to surround myself with the right people,” he added.
Jones then briefly moved on to the economy, the second issue he plans to make central to his campaign. The Republican believes cutting taxes and regulations will help create jobs and grow Alabama’s economy.
“There are those in the legislature that believe we can just tax ourselves to prosperity,” he said. “That’s not going to work. We have to innovate our way to prosperity.”
By cutting red tape and reducing the tax burden, Jones says Alabama can be a leader in recruiting new businesses and encouraging economic growth.
“The potential for Alabama to be an economic leader is there,” he said. “Cutting taxes and ending regulations would give us a better opportunity to recruit businesses and bring jobs here while also organically growing the economy by expanding businesses and jobs that we already have.”
The final key issue Jones discussed in his interview with the Franklin Free Press was education, something that he says needs to be “rebranded and reinvigorated.” To do this, Jones says, the federal government needs to get out of the way.
“The federal government has no business in education,” he said. “They need to get out.”
And as the federal government leaves, Jones says the ability to choose needs to be at the forefront.
“The thing that makes us great is choice, but it seems the one part of our lives we have the fewest choices in is education,” he said. “We’ve got to empower parents and our students to make choices about the kind of education they are getting. The kids that are in failing school systems shouldn’t be forced to stay there.”
When asked if he supported a voucher system, one of the more popular ideas among school choice advocates, or had another solution to the problem, Jones did not claim to be the know-it-all.
“There’s a lot of really good ideas out there and there’s a lot of bad ideas,” he said. “I’m an innovator and the great thing about innovation is there doesn’t have to be just one solution to the problem. We don’t have to do it just one way all the time.”
If Jones should win the election, he says he will approach the office like he would his business.
“To me, the governor is like the chief development officer of the state,” he said. “I’m in leadership and I put together teams. My job is to put together the best teams possible to successfully complete the job. I believe my ability to build teams and get people to work together is why I’m a good fit for governor.”
And anyone in a potential Jones administration would be there, not because of his or her resume, but because of his or her ability.
“The way I run my business, we hire people, not based off their resume, but based off their talents and their fit,” he said. “I want to bring that to the governor’s office. Any politician can build a good resume, but do they have the talents and ability to get the job done and are they a good fit? Do they have the capacity between the ears to know what has to be done and how to do it? Those are the questions that should be asked.”
When asked if a political outsider could win against Alabama’s household political names, Jones responded affirmatively.
“Absolutely,” he said. “There are a handful of counties in this state that voted for an outsider candidate for president more than anywhere else in the country. The people of Alabama are ready for a change and I can deliver it.”
Jones has not announced any campaign stops in the Franklin County area yet but says he has plans to schedule visits to northwest Alabama in the future. Jones’s official campaign website is jonesforalabama.com. The gubernatorial election will be held on November 6, 2018.
