Shevrin Jones


Shevrin D. Jones is a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 101st District, which includes southeastern Broward County, since 2012.
Jones is the first openly gay black person and first openly LGBT black person elected to the Florida Legislature.

History

Jones was born in Hollywood to Eric Jones, the current Mayor of West Park. He attended Florida A&M University, where he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology in 2006. After graduation, he returned to South Florida, where he taught Advanced Placement Chemistry in Broward County Public Schools, and then worked as an AP Biology instructor at Florida Atlantic University High School.
In 2010, he ran for a seat on the Broward County Commission in District 8, running against Barbara Sharief and Angelo Castillo. Jones attacked Sharief and Castillo in a mailer over the fact that they would have to resign their positions in local government if they were elected, declaring, "Both of my opponents are incumbent politicians who have abandoned their oath to serve us for the full term for which they campaigned. Now the taxpayers of Pembroke Pines and Miramar will have to pay thousand more for pecial Election needed to replace them. That's just wrong." Jones came in third place, receiving 17% of the vote to Sharief's 62% and Castillo's 21%.
In 2018, Jones came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay black person and first openly LGBT black person to serve in the Florida Legislature.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2012, after the Florida House of Representatives districts were redrawn, Jones opted to run in the newly created 101st District. He initially was set to face Pembroke Park Mayor Ashira Mohammed and Hollywood City Commissioner Beam Furr in the Democratic primary, but both Mohammed and Furr dropped out, and Jones won election to the House unopposed in both the primary and general elections. Jones was re-elected to his second term in the legislature in 2014 without opposition.