Vernon Jones talks about running for governor
Strong opinions begat strong reactions. I recently begatted a strong opinion about Republican gubernatorial candidate Vernon Jones and he begatted a strong reaction right back at me. Good for him. Many intrepid public servants poked by my stiletto do one of two things: They sulk or ignore me, hoping I will be abducted by space aliens and transported to some distant hostile planet or to Detroit City, whichever will be most unpleasant. (I’m guessing Detroit City.)
It seems I remarked that at the recent state Republican convention on Jekyll Island, a number of delegates booed the incumbent governor who got a voting rights bill passed that Democrats hate, guided us through an unprecedented pandemic and presides over a state budget surplus of nearly $3 billion. Not enough for the boo-birds. They think he didn’t do all he could have or should have done to ensure Donald Trump’s reelection.
Instead, they cheered for Vernon Jones, who is running against Gov. Brian Kemp in the upcoming Republican primary. I found that interesting, given that – to quote an anonymous modest but much-beloved columnist – Jones carries more baggage than an airport carousel. That is what begatted me a phone call from the man. It seems he had read that somewhere.
In case you happen not to be familiar with Vernon Jones, he is a former state representative (1993 to 2001 and 2017 to 2021) and was chief executive officer of DeKalb County from 2001 to 2009. Now, he has decided to take a shot at becoming our 84th governor.
He is also a newly-minted Republican, having changed parties in January of this year. “I’m a Black MAGA man,” he told the conservative Breitbart News recently, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. To date, he has not been formally endorsed by The Man himself, but he has received the endorsements of Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; Bernard B. Kerik, former New York police commissioner, pardoned by Donald Trump after having served time for felony tax and false statement charges; the Atlanta Tea Party and Russ Abernathy, former Henry County Chief of Police.
As to switching parties Jones reminded me quickly that such folks as Ronald Reagan, Sonny Perdue, Nathan Deal and – yes – Donald Trump did just that.
His platform is pure-red Republican: “Refund police, not defund police;” ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Georgia public schools; pro-life and an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association while in the Legislature. He thinks what differentiates himself from Kemp or any other Republican is that he can broaden the party’s appeal with Blacks.