Donna Jones (Idaho politician)

Donna M. Jones was born at Brush, Colorado on January 14, 1939. She spent her early childhood at Rago, Colorado, which is located on the northeastern plains of the state about 20 miles outside of Akron, Colorado. Her father, Virgil Dale “Jim” Wolfe, was a farmer and operated a country store with her mother, Margaret Elizabeth “Libby” Wolfe (McDaniel). “Libby” was also the post mistress in Rago, Colorado.

Jones is the youngest of three children. Her sister, Arlene, the middle child, died at the age of 9 in 1945. Her older brother Darrel “Doc” Wolfe resided in Payette, Idaho until his death in the spring of 2014.

The Wolfe family moved to Middleton, Idaho in 1950 so “Doc” could attend college at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, and to be closer to “Libby’s” sister who resided in Roswell, Idaho. In 1956 Donna married her high school sweetheart, Donald Jones.

In November 1986, the people of Idaho approved H.J.R 4, which banned floterial districts.[4][5] However, legislative district boundaries in Idaho were not changed until the legislature adopted the recommendations of the state’s redistricting committee, which was charged with using the decennial census results to redraw district boundaries prior to the 1992 election.[6]

On April 20, 1987, Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus, a Democrat, appointed Jones, a Republican, to represent floterial District 13 in the Idaho House of Representatives.[7] Jones replaced Mike Strasser, who had moved out of state for work-related reasons.[8]

Jones stood for election in 1988, and retained her seat.[7]

In 1989, four-term[9] State Senator Roger Fairchild resigned his seat in District 10, and Governor Andrus appointed the District 10 Representative, Mary Hartung, to fill the Senate vacancy. Andrus then asked Jones to fill the District 10 House vacancy.[8]

Jones was elected to the House seat for District 10 in 1990.[4][10] In 1992, due to reapportionment, she ran for, and won, District 9.[5][11] She was re-elected to the District 9 seat in 1994 and 1996.

Jones resigned her legislative seat in 1998 and accepted a position as executive director of the Idaho Real Estate Commission. Prior to resigning, Jones had already won the 1998 Republican primary election for the seat. Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed Thomas Limbaugh to fill Jones’ vacancy.[8] (Limbaugh won the general election.[12])

From 1997 to 1998 Jones chaired the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.[13] She was appointed to this position by then-speaker of the Idaho House Mike Simpson, and was the first woman to hold the post.[14]

Jones challenged incumbent state Controller, Keith Johnson in the 2002 Republican primary election. In the three-way race she finished second to Johnson by 4,052 votes, losing by 3.2%.[15]

In the 2006 Republican primary Jones returned and vied for the open State Controller’s seat against Royce C. Chigbrow. Jones won this primary race by 22,429 votes, a margin of 18.8%.[16]

In the 2006 general election Jones faced Democratic candidate Jackie Groves Twilegar, and won by 73,969 votes, a margin of 17.06%.[1]

Jones was involved in a serious automobile accident on May 25, 2012.[17] She resigned on October 15, 2012, as a direct result of injuries sustained from the accident. She was succeeded by her chief of staff, Brandon D. Woolf.[18]