Jones Plans to Quit Council to Study Business at Harvard

Fifteen years after he began working at City Hall as an unpaid intern to the San Diego city councilman he eventually succeeded, Councilman William Jones announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection this fall in order to pursue a business degree at Harvard University.

In a motivational speech to students at his alma mater, Morse High School, Jones cited his decision to retire from the council as an example of “the choices we face in life . . . that aren’t always easy to make and involve some risk-taking.”

Regarded as a virtual certainty for reelection had he chosen to run for a second four-year term, Jones, 31, admitted that he had ambivalent feelings about leaving a $40,000-a-year job that carries with it a certain degree of prestige and power.

However, Jones explained that he hopes that his enrollment in a two-year program at the Harvard Business School will “help me to become a better, more rounded person (and) widen my options” to include a possible business career.

To accommodate his academic schedule, Jones plans to step down from the council in early September, about three months before his term expires in December. Though the council could appoint a caretaker to the post during that period, Jones argued--and several City Hall officials agreed--that it is more likely that the council will simply leave the 4th District seat vacant “until the voters make their choice.” Some of Jones’ staff will remain at City Hall to handle district affairs during that period.

Under similar circumstances two years ago, the council left the 7th District seat vacant for five months after Councilman Dick Murphy resigned to accept a Municipal Court judgeship.

During his speech and at a later news conference, Jones acknowledged that his decision to retire, at least temporarily, from public life was particularly difficult because of the fact that he has spent nearly half of his life at City Hall.

Began as Volunteer

As a teen-ager, Jones began working at City Hall as a volunteer for then-Councilman Leon Williams, and over the next 10 years advanced to become Williams’ administrative assistant. When Williams was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 1982, Jones was unanimously appointed by the council to succeed him--becoming, at age 27, the youngest City Council member of a major American city. The next year, Jones was elected to a full four-year term.

In recent months, Jones’ noncommittal responses to questions about his political plans led other would-be successors to conclude that he would not run for reelection this year in the 4th District, which includes Southeast San Diego, Paradise Hills, Logan Heights, and parts of Golden Hill and Encanto.

Declared or potential candidates in the race include Richard “Tip” Calvin, a former police officer and head of a printing and publishing firm; Felipe Hueso, a transportation firm executive; Marla Marshall, the top aide to San Diego City Councilwoman Gloria McColl; Wesley Pratt, a lawyer and aide to Supervisor Williams; the Rev. George Stevens, a special assistant to Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) and associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, and Pete Wigfall, a county probation officer.

The top two vote-getters in the September district primary will compete in the citywide November general election.

Saying that “today is not the day for endorsements,” Jones declined to specify whether he expects to play an active role in the campaign to elect his successor. However, Jones described Pratt, whom he originally hired to work for then-Councilman Williams, as being “like a brother to me,” and added, “Anything he’d ask me to do, I’d probably do it to help him, short of an endorsement at this time.”

Jones, a Democrat, also said that he will consider endorsing Pratt “somewhere down the road,” or speaking out during the campaign if the nominally nonpartisan race becomes overly partisan.

Ally of O’Connor

Jones has been an ally of Mayor Maureen O’Connor on most major issues. His planned departure from City Hall means that there will be at least two new council members next year--a political happenstance that could affect O’Connor’s ability to direct a council majority. The other council newcomer will represent the 8th District, where Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros has pledged not to run for the seat to which she was appointed last December after Uvaldo Martinez resigned after his guilty plea to felony charges stemming from his misuse of a city credit card.

During his council career, Jones created Project First Class, a program designed to revitalize Southeast San Diego, and also worked with the Southeast San Diego Development Corp. in attempting to persuade businesses to locate or expand in his district, which includes some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

In addition, Jones’ proposals led to the establishment of the Citizens’ Advisory Board on Police-Community Relations and a new human-relations training program for police officers. He also repeatedly focused public attention on drug abuse and gang violence, two critical 4th District problems that he urged Morse students to help combat in his speech Thursday.

However, when asked at the news conference to name his major accomplishments, Jones did not cite specific programs but referred instead to a personal matter and his efforts to change attitudes toward and within the 4th District.

Flanked by his family, Jones, a single parent, said he is particularly proud about “remaining being a dad through it all” to his 8-year-old daughter, Lia, and “being able to find time to take care of the most important responsibility that I have.”

(When asked for her thoughts on her impending move to Cambridge, Lia said, “I don’t want to--I just want to stay here.” To that, Jones replied, “Sometimes dads have executive privilege.”)

Pushed for Equity

His other chief achievement, Jones said, was the continuation of an effort begun by Williams “to change the attitude at City Hall that it was OK to deliver second-class service” to the 4th District. Throughout his tenure at City Hall, Jones persistently pushed for equity for his district in terms of provision of city funds and services.

“There are still people who think it’s OK for certain parts of cities to falter, deteriorate,” Jones said. “This community has been a victim of that attitude that it’s OK to throw away this part of the city, it’s OK to throw away the people who live in it . . . because we don’t have to see it. But it’s not OK.”

Jones emphasized that his decision to retire from the council was not influenced by two major disappointments of the past year: his intense anger over the council’s dismissal last October of City Manager Sylvester Murray, the first black to hold that post, and finding himself embroiled in controversy when it was revealed last fall that Jones had received an unusual no-down payment loan from a local bank to buy a small Southeast San Diego apartment complex whose residents received rent subsidies from the city. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, Jones later asked the city to end the subsidies.

“I do not subscribe to letting one particular incident influence a major decision,” Jones said. And, despite the controversy over the apartment complex, Jones said, “If I knew what I do today, I would still do the same thing.”

“I took a piece of property that was infested and infected, a slum situation . . . and improved it,” Jones said, noting that he sought the advice of the city attorney’s office before buying the complex. “That neighborhood is better because of my effort there. No apologies whatsoever.”

Unspecific on Future

Describing his acceptance at Harvard as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Jones, who has an economics degree from the University of San Diego, spoke in only the most general terms about his plans after graduation.

“I’d like to enter the business world (and) continue to be involved with the community,” Jones told the students. “I’d like to make money.” Jones said that he would like to return to San Diego, but would “not rule out any possibilities” elsewhere. A future return to politics also is possible, Jones said.

Jones estimated that his tuition and housing costs will total about $30,000 annually during the two-year Harvard program--an expense that he is prepared to bear himself in the event that he does not secure a scholarship or other financial aid.

“I imagine if I pay for it myself . . . I’ll be in debt substantially,” he concluded.

If that happens, William Jones, Harvard Business Class of ‘89, will likely have plenty of time over the next two years to ponder his explanation to the Morse students about why he chose to forsake a good-paying job or immediate options to “cash in” on his City Hall experience by becoming a lobbyist in order to return to school.

“Money is not everything, is it?” Jones asked.