I don’t know much about Elizabeth Ames Jones.
She’s from San Antonio and has a journalism degree from UT Austin. Served two full terms in the Texas House of Representatives, but stepped down after having been elected to a third term and serving a year of it when she was named to the Texas RR commission by Gov. Perry. Her legislative accomplishments include Chairman of Budget and Oversight for the Energy Resources Committee and member of Appropriations, Local and Consent Calendars, and Select School Finance committees. She was elected Vice Chair of the House Republican Caucus during her second term, the first woman ever elected to a leadership position in the Caucus.
The Texas RR Commission has not much to do with railroads, but is actually an oil and gas commission, the most powerful regulatory agency in the state of Texas. Jones’ appointment to the Commission was to fill an unexpired term, but she was elected to a full six-year term in November ‘06. She represents the Railroad Commission on the Coastal Coordination Council and is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
Jones filed the papers to run for Kay Bailout Hutchison’s seat back in 2008 when KBH said she would probably resign to run for Governor. KBH ran for governor (and lost), but didn’t formally announce her retirement until this year.
She is married to William C. Jones IV, an Austin attorney who also has a civil engineering degree and worked 7 years as a construction engineer. He specializes in water and property rights. They have two aldult children.
She was a state rep. from western San Antonio, when Perry named her to the Railroad Commission. Then Joe Straus won her House seat. She has been considered “moderate” in the past.