Gina Ortiz Jones | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 27thUnited States Under Secretary of the Air Force | |
| In office July 26, 2021 – March 6, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Matthew Donovan |
| Succeeded by | Kristyn E. Jones (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1981-02-01)February 1, 1981 (age 44) Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Boston University (BA,MA) United States Army Command and General Staff College (MMAS) University of Kansas (MA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 2003–2006 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Gina Maria Ortiz Jones (born February 1, 1981) is an American politician andAir Force veteran who served asUnder Secretary of the Air Force from July 2021 to March 2023.
Jones was the2018Democratic nominee forTexas's 23rd congressional district, narrowly losing to the incumbentRepublicanWill Hurd.[1] She ran again for the seat in 2020, winning the Democratic primary, and was defeated byNavy veteranTony Gonzales in the general election.[2][3] After her second loss, she was nominated as the nextUnder Secretary of the Air Force in theBiden administration. She was confirmed by theSenate in 2021 and resigned from office in 2023.
Born on February 1, 1981, inArlington, Virginia,[4] Jones grew up inSan Antonio, Texas, as a first-generation American daughter of a single mother, Victorina Ortiz, anIlocano fromPangasinan,Philippines.[5] Her mother emigrated to the U.S. and earned a teaching certificate.[6] Jones has a younger sister, Christi Ann.[7]
Jones graduated fromJohn Jay High School in 1999.[6] She earned a four-yearAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) scholarship,[8] allowing her to enroll atBoston University. She graduated with a bachelor's degree inEast Asian studies and a master's degree in economics in 2003.[9] Alesbian whocame out to her mother at 15, Jones served under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, where she was at risk of losing herAFROTC scholarship if hersexual orientation was disclosed.[10]
She later earned a master's degree in military arts and sciences at theSchool of Advanced Military Studies of theUnited States Army Command and General Staff College.[6]
After graduating from college, Jones joined theUnited States Air Force, becoming an intelligence officer. She was later deployed toIraq[11] with the18th Air Support Operations Group, supportingclose air support operations.[12] After three years ofactive duty and reaching the rank ofcaptain, Jones returned to Texas in 2006, working for a consulting company while caring for her mother, who hadcolon cancer (from which she eventually recovered).[8][13][14]
She then returned to working as an intelligence analyst forUnited States Africa Command in Germany.[6] In 2008, Jones joined theDefense Intelligence Agency, where she specialized in Latin American topics;[8] ultimately she became a special adviser to the deputy director. In November 2016, she moved to theExecutive Office of the President to serve as a director in theOffice of the United States Trade Representative. Having previously served under presidents of both parties, Jones continued in her role during theTrump administration until June 2017, when she left her role, tellingHuffPost, "The type of people that were brought in to be public servants were interested in neither the public nor the service ... That, to me, was a sign that I'm going to have to serve in a different way."[15] She returned to San Antonio to run for Congress,[8][16] living in the house where she grew up.[15]
In 2017, Jones was the first Democrat to announce a challenge[16] to Republican representativeWill Hurd in Texas's predominantly Hispanic23rd congressional district, which includes much of the border between Texas and Mexico.[17]Hillary Clinton won the district by three points in the2016 United States presidential election[18] and neither party had controlled the swing district for more than two consecutive terms since 2007.[19]
Jones finished first in the March 6, 2018, Democratic primary,[20] earning 41 percent of the vote in a field of five.[21] Arunoff election was held on May 22, which Jones won.[22] She faced Hurd in the November 6 general election, in what was called the most competitive congressional race in the state.[23][24] As of June 30, Jones had raised $2.2 million while Hurd had raised $2.4 million in addition to the $1.5 million with which he entered the race. With four months remaining, Jones was approaching the district's record for election fundraising by a Democrat ($2.7 million).[25]
Jones was endorsed byEMILY's List,[26] theAsian American Action Fund, theEquality PAC,[27]VoteVets, and theLGBTQ Victory Fund, as well asWendy Davis andKhizr Khan.[15]
Media coverage named Jones as part of several "waves" of candidates from various backgrounds running as Democrats in 2018, including women,[18][20] LGBT people,[28][29] and military veterans.[30][31] A March 2018Teen Vogue article noted that if elected, Jones would be "the first openly gay woman of color from Texas elected to Congress, as well as the first Iraq War veteran to represent Texas in Congress. She'd also be the first woman to represent Texas's 23rd Congressional district."[27]
Jones said she believed health care reform would play a big role in the election.[32] She and Hurd both broke fundraising records.[33][34]
Jones lost to Hurd by 1,150 votes and conceded on November 19.[35][36]
In May 2019, Jones launched a second campaign for Texas's 23rd congressional district.[2] She has raised over $1 million for her campaign, including $100,000 in the 24 hours following Hurd's August 2019 announcement that he would not seek reelection. In October 2019The Texas Tribune reported that she was the primary front-runner. In May 2020, former presidential candidatePete Buttigieg's Win the EraPAC endorsed Jones.[2]
In the November general election, Republican nomineeTony Gonzales defeated Jones by four percentage points.[37]
Jones wasconfirmed as President Biden's Under Secretary of the Air Force by theSenate on July 22, 2021.[38] She was the sixth woman to hold that title,[39] the first woman of color and the first open lesbian.[40] In that post her responsibilities included personnel management. She managed the implementation of a revised policy governing when pregnant service member can fly in place of the service's total prohibition on flying while pregnant.[40] Pregnant service members were no longer required to wait a year from the end of a pregnancy to apply to Air Force Officer Training School, but could apply while pregnant.[39] She enhanced services for victims of domestic abuse and produced a study to provide senior leadership with better data on the performance of female officers, countering anecdotal disparagement of their record.[40]
She resigned as under secretary in February 2023, effective March 6.[39]
Jones leads Find Out PAC, apolitical action committee seeking to defeatTexas Supreme Court justicesJimmy Blacklock,Jane Bland andJohn Devine, who were running for re-election in 2024, because of their decision inCox v. Texas.[41] All three justices were re-elected to 6-year terms in the2024 Texas judicial elections and Blacklock was appointedChief justice following his victory.[42][43]
In December 2024, Jones announced her candidacy for themayor ofSan Antonio, Texas.[44] She joined a crowded field of candidates due to former mayorRon Nirenberg being term-limited.
Jones has a younger sister who is an intelligence officer in theUnited States Navy.[45] She identifies as anIlocano, aFilipinoethnolinguistic group.[5]
Within the Texas Democratic Party, Jones, 37, says she is attempting to change the conversation of 'who can enter into politics and who cannot.'
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anthony P. Reardon Acting | United States Under Secretary of the Air Force 2021–2023 | Succeeded by Kristyn E. Jones Acting |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by – as – | Order of precedence of the United States as Under Secretary of the Air Force | Succeeded byas actingUnder Secretary of the Navy |
