By Dan Murphy
Congressman Mondaire Jones is completing his first two year term representing Westchester and Rockland counties. Rep. Jones did not run for reelection to his congressional post because of redistricting, and because a more senior member of Congress, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, decided to run in Jones’ district.
Maloney’s decision forced Jones to run for an open seat in New York City, in which he lost the democratic primary. Now Jones is returning to Westchester where he will begin a new government post and …who knows what the future brings.
Rep. Jones is completing his term by delivering grant monies to the district and by sounding off on the issues of the day. “I’m proud to be delivering nearly $29 million in federal funding for vital community projects throughout New York’s 17th Congressional District. From expanded health care and mental health services, to restoring our roads, bridges and vibrant community spaces, these projects will improve the everyday lives of my constituents in Rockland and Westchester Counties. I’m proud to have worked with my Senate partners, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, to secure this money for my district.
Rep. Jones is pictured above in the Town of Yorktown, where he highlighted a federal grant to help the town improve its sewer systems.
Jones also recently penned an Op-Ed urging Congress to pass a law he is introducing to try and regulate what he calls “right wing activist judges.”
“Democrats must respond to this historic moment of right-wing judicial activism by limiting the ability of activist judges to strike down federal policies without a basis in fact or law. In doing so, we would restore integrity to the judiciary while returning power to the people and the representatives they elect.”
“I have long called for Congress to restore sanity to our democratic system and exercise its well-established constitutional powers to regulate the federal judiciary. As one of my final acts this term, I’m introducing the Injunction Reform Act to bar the ability of activist federal courts to issue nationwide injunctions of federal policies, channeling that authority instead to the federal district court in Washington, D.C., the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.”
In an interview with City & State NY, Jones said that he is moving to Sleepy Hollow and returning to his roots in the hudson valley. Jones grew up in Rockland County. Maloney lost his election to republican Mike Lawler, leaving the door open for Jones to challenge Lawler in 2024, a Presidential year where the outcome may be more favorable to a democrat.
“I care too deeply to go away, I’m only 35 years old.”
After Congress adjourns in Jan. 2023, Jones will begin his new position, an appointment to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Jones said that while he looks forward to serving in his new post, it does not prevent him from running for Congress or another elected office in Westchester. “It’s something that I’m considering.”
The City and State story, https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2022/12/brooklyn-and-back-again-mondaire-jones-moving-17th-congressional-district/381254/ also included a mention of a NY1 interview in which he expressed “his lasting frustration with Maloney, while actually calling Lawler a friend”, from their Rockland county connection.
Overall, Jones was well liked and respected in Westchester during his first term, replacing Nita Lowey. Were it not for redistricting, and what some have called the “Bigfooting” by Maloney, Jones would be serving in the next session of Congress.
