Three month ago, Mia Jones, a Jacksonville and Dist. 10 native, took a seat on City Council. Though quiet and fairly reserved, those observing the self-described good listener attest she’s going to be one watch in the next few years.
“She’s very intelligent,” said Michelle Querry, Council liaison to the mayor’s office, “And from what I’ve seen, she’s taken a firm grasp of the issues of her district in a very short amount of time. Beyond that, she’s aware of the overarching issues effecting the entire community, which is wonderful to see.” Jones met recently with Daily Record staff writer J. Brooks Terry to share her experiences as a first-time Council member.
Question: You’ve been on City Council for less than three months, but do you think you could have predicted what it would be like while you were campaigning to get here?
Answer: No, I couldn’t have. I expected that we would have come in and someone would have said, ‘OK, this is the budget you have to work with for your district and you get to make these decisions.’ I would have thought these kind of things would have been in place. The first thing I learned is that we don’t have a budget, per se. When you’re on the campaign trail, you tell people that there are things you want to do, but you’re careful not to make any promises because you don’t know what you’re walking into. It’s been a learning experience. What I’ve shared with my constituents is that when we know exactly what we’re working with, we can say what we’re going to do for the community. My slogan while I was campaigning was, ‘new voice, new vision, visible results.’ We’re still committed to that. We want people to see what we’ve done. If we’re not successful with something, we want them to know why. It’s important to establish that trust with your constituents. Everything won’t go where we want it to go, but if we work together we can accomplish a lot.
Q: Sounds like you’ve been learning a lot in a short amount of time.
A: I have. The first few months really are, like I said, a learning process. When you first start, you have things in your mind that you want on the Council agenda, but you have to learn how to get it on paper and present it and ultimately see it passed. I know we’re looking forward to a lot of things, but you have to learn how to take action first. It’s getting better everyday, but you have to understand that timing is everything. I was having a hard time understanding that when I first got here, but you adapt to the learning curve.
Q: Speaking of the learning curve, have you taken more of crash course approach to the Council, or do you look to others for guidance?
A: Most of the Council members have been very receptive to helping in every way. But I don’t want to waste people’s time by shooting the breeze or asking a lot of questions. I like to watch how people work. For instance, I’m working on something right now, but I wanted to wait because I knew that there was similar legislation already out there. I’m watching the process first and then, maybe, I’ll ask questions. If I do that, I can avoid some pitfalls that others may have run into.
Q: Many new Council members have taken it upon themselves to make a splash right away with respect to becoming public figures, but you’ve remained fairly quiet so far in the media and in meetings. Is there a reason for that?
A: I’m a firm believer that you learn more by listening than you do by talking all the time. For me, my commitment to myself was that I wasn’t going to talk just to talk. When I do speak, it will be about something that has an impact. It will, like you said, make a splash. But I don’t want people to think that because I’m not talking, we’re not working. A lot is going on. There are things behind the scenes for the district that we’re working on that I’m really excited about and we’re working hard on those things. When we get the constituents involved, you’ll start seeing legislation and other things taking place. There are also a number of things coming up that other Council members are working on that you’ll hear from me on. Keep watching.
Q: Council members usually have special issues that they take personal interest in. What is important to you?
A: Economic development is one of my main concerns. Being in the Northwest quadrant, we have a shortage of that. We’re lacking in a lot of areas. When I was running, I let the constituents craft my platform. When I decided to do this, I went to association meeting with a list of things that I wanted to talk about. But the best thing they could have done was wait to introduce me until the end of the meeting. That way, I was able to hear their concerns first. I was able to listen to the things they were dealing with. At that moment, when I got up there to address them, I told them that I just threw my original platform out the window and I took about eight months to create a new one. Dist.10 is a vast district and, while the needs are very similar throughout it, we have to work together to improve it and make things happen. Economic development is one of the things we want to see. No one wants to go outside of their own district for everything. You want stores and restaurants near your home.
Q: Other concerns?
A: Infrastructure. We have an older neighborhood and we have old needs that need to be addressed. My priority isn’t the new pothole that showed up last week. I want to address the concerns that people have been having for the last 20 years so that they know that their tax dollars aren’t being wasted and that someone is listening to them. It’s going to take time, but I know infrastructure is something that many Council members are concerned about. Safety and lighting is another issue. There are areas in Dist. 10 where there could be economic development, that I feel people would be receptive to moving into if the lighting was different. Safety is very important if you’re talking about a business, so we want to be proactive in establishing proper lighting in those areas. In some cases it could be as easy as replacing lights or trimming trees, but we are aware that keeping areas well lit is important to a lot of people and that ties back into economic development. I’m concerned about education and challenged schools. Even though I’m on the Council, I want to help them get off the challenged list. I’d like to see mentoring programs and get the businesses involved. The success of our children is going to be based on, not only what their families do, but what the community can do. The whole community is going to have to get involved to make a positive change there.
Q: Right now there are six African-American Council members and each of you are very different in the way you deliver your views and approach issues. Is that comforting?
A: It’s always good to have people who have similar interests and can relate to similar situations in their districts. For those reasons, I’m excited about working with them. We’ve got an opportunity to work together and I’m looking forward to that.
Q: As a Council member, how can you improve?
A: Right now, I want to work on managing my time. This is supposed to be a part-time position, but I have not found that to be true. I spend a significant amount of time here in the office. If I’m not here, we’re out in the district seeing what we need to work on. Time management is the biggest thing. I’ll tell anyone out there, this is not a part-time job. If you want to do it effectively, you’re going to put a lot of hours in. But you have to pace yourself or you’re going to run yourself into the ground. If you do that, you’re not going to benefit anybody. One of the things I’ve done is establish a neighborhood association and we have quarterly meetings. We actually had the first one last week. In those meetings I get a list of concerns. After I get it and I categorize them, I come back to them and I’m able to address more than one issue at once, quickly and concisely without reinventing the wheel. Also, at every meeting we’ll be able to look at what we’re achieving. That will be key in observing results, seeing where we are and helping me manage my time.
Q: If fellow Council member Glorious Johnson is “the lady on fire,” who is Mia Jones?
A: I see myself as a change agent.
Q: How so?
A: When I leave office, I want there to be a significant change for the positive in my district. That means a better quality of life for my constituents and improved infrastructure. I want our children to know about politics and be excited about it. I want our schools to improve through a support system that they didn’t have before. I want to be the change agent for Dist. 10. I’m committed to that.