Stephen L. Jones/Introduction

Born in the summer of '73 to a factory foreman and his wife, Steve Jones grew up in the closing chapter of Detroit's heyday. He was born the year Coleman Young was elected as Detroit's first black mayor. He was born the year Roe v. Wade was decided. He was born the day Mark Felt retired from the FBI. It was a year full of scandals, including one at the very top of the US executive branch (Nixon would eventually resign.) He grew up to the end of Vietnam and end of the Oil Embargo. He grew up with barriers, long standing, being taken down.

He internalized those lessons and went into real estate in 1999 to help people break down the barriers between themselves, and their dreams. Throughout the worst of the dot-com crash, he helped connect would-be Detroiters to the homes they would raise their families in. By 2003 it was apparent to him that Detroit was in trouble. The city was struggling under the weight of it's own history, the industries that had made Detroit great had long since left - and nothing was filling the gaps. In 2003 Steve Jones changed gears, got out of residential real estate, and went into redevelopment consulting.

In four years he helped Detroit re-invent itself, brokering deals to bring new hotels to the city - along the water front. He helped broker the MGM Grand Motor City Casino deal. He helped bring several of the key parks to the riverfront, part of a team that led the way out of the dark, industrial past and towards a bright future as a resurgent cultural and economic center.

It hasn't been the easiest road for The D. But Detroiters are nothing if not resilient, and Steve Jones is a Detroiter. Vote Steve Jones for Mayor in 2013, and let's get back to work.

                                 --Jones for Mayor Campaign Pamphlet