Herb Jones is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 1. His name will appear on the ballot on Nov. 8, 2022.
10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race. If you do not see a candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
See who is on your ballot by viewing the candidate lists on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Name: Herb Jones
Race: U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
Party: Democrat
Website: Herb Jones for Congress
Biography: Growing up in a large family in rural America, Herb Jones’ parents instilled a belief in the promise of America, a strong work ethic, commitment to excellence, and a commitment to the American values of freedom, democracy, truth, and justice. This led Jones to join the U.S. Army upon graduation from college to bravely defend our democracy. During his 30 years of service, he completed two tours of Iraq following the 9/11 attacks. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his combat service and retired in 2012 at the rank of colonel.
In his civilian career, Jones was elected as the treasurer of New Kent County and served three terms. He is a proud family man. Jones is the co-founder and CEO of a small business that he runs with his brother, Michael. He is a resident of New Kent County with his wife, Yvonne. They are proud parents and grandparents.
Why should Virginians elect you to the U.S. House of Representatives?
I am very motivated by what I’ve witnessed transpire after the 2020 election. I have a strong interest in protecting our democracy and the institutions in our government. It worries me that the respect for those institutions are undermined by elected officials and other Americans. I served this country in the military for the purpose of protecting our democracy. It disturbs me greatly to see the threats to our democracy. Moreover, my opponent contributed to these threats by voting against the certification of the 2020 election and supported the insurrection. My opponent is an enabler to the extremists who threaten our peace and prosperity.
What is the most important issue facing Virginia, and what is your position on it?
The underlying issue that manifests itself in all of our campaign’s priorities is the threats to democracy we face. Voting rights are at stake, economic development and continued growth in our financial sectors is on the line, and an infiltration of extremists in our local school board needs to be tamped down with an orderly direction for good governance. The teacher shortage in Virginia is a major concern, as is the health of our public school system.
What is the top challenge facing your district, and how would you address it?
Broadband access, lapses in infrastructure in our grid (ex. I-64 in New Kent that should have been widened 30 years ago; Rep. Rob Wittman voted against the Build Back Better Act that would have supplemented the cost to this project), flooding in Norfolk, Hampton, and the middle peninsula due to climate change (not to mention water quality and the need for cost share and mitigation practices), and a teacher shortage are top issues facing District 1.
How would you rate Congress’ response to the economic impacts of COVID-19? How would you improve upon that response?
President Joe Biden’s response is what we needed at the time. COVID-19 was not properly handled under the previous administration. Congress approving the aid packages early in the pandemic and after Biden was elected had a positive impact. This legislation set a powerful precedent to coordinate a proactive, cooperative, and evidence-based approach. Transparency and a robust educational component to our government’s response to planning and responding with the public’s input is very important for future pandemics.
What is your stance on federal student loan forgivness?
I like what Biden did as an investment in our future. I think that Biden made a good start but can do more. The government bailed out banks, the auto industry, and the airline industry, but this legislation serves Americans directly. In the larger context, the cost of higher education and post-secondary education should be more affordable to people. It is important that we do all we can to expand access to higher education with reasonable cost and repayment of loans.
What is your stance on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade?
Women and people that can get pregnant should be able to make their own healthcare decisions. This is about privacy and individual freedoms. What we are looking at is forced pregnancies by the government. This decision was a mistake to send the issue back to the states. I think Congress needs to codify reproductive rights to prevent interference in a person’s healthcare decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court is out of control. Other landmark cases decided around privacy are now being called into question, for example marriage quality and access to contraception.
How is gun violence impacting your district, and how do you plan to address gun violence?
Simply put, we need stronger gun safety regulations. Every child in school is traumatized by these mass shootings, whether or not they have been directly impacted by shootings. While we do have a mental health issue, gun regulations is the primary need here. Our country needs common sense gun regulations. Eighteen-year-olds have no business having weapons of war. Guns should be regulated similar to how motor vehicles are regulated: Training, licensing, liability insurance, and car ownership. Many guns implicated in crimes are stolen, and 70% of gun violence is death by suicide.
What strategies do you support to combat inflation?
We need legislation that would target price gouging. We’ve seen $120 to $130 prices per barrel of gas, but what we’ve seen these past few months is millionaire and billionaire leaders of companies price gouging at the pump. When e know corporations are practicing price gouging, we need legislation to limit that. We also need fiscal discipline in Congress. A large part of what will be needed to reduce pressure to due to inflation needs to be handled by the federal government. The Inflation Reduction Act is a powerful approach to narrow the deficit and will address the pressures we face. A lot of inflation we see is due to the disruption in our supply chain, which is a situation that is slowly improving.
