Lessons Learned at SDSU Still Aid California State Senator

Lessons Learned at SDSU Still Aid California State Senator

Hon. Brian Jones

San Diego State alumnus and California state senator Brian Jones (R-38th) first became fascinated with politics when he was involved in student government during his junior high and high school years in the early- and mid-1980s. However, he put his interest in politics on hold to attend Grossmont Community College which proceeded a transfer to SDSU where he earned his management degree from the Fowler College of Business in 1991. 

“The Political Bug Bit Me”

Jones’ interest in the political system was rekindled in 1999 when his church wanted to relocate from Spring Valley to a former grocery store building in Santee. “Through the purchase process, we learned the church would need to get a conditional use permit from the city of Santee – basically, we had to get permission from the city government to relocate there,” he said. “I felt this was an unnecessary burden for the church, though, ultimately, the city council did approve the relocation by a vote of 3-2.”

Randy Voepel was one of the council members who voted in favor of the church’s relocation and when he decided to run for mayor, Jones volunteered to help with his campaign.  “Once I volunteered for Randy’s campaign, the political bug bit me,” recalled Jones. “Randy won the election. In 2002, Randy and (former Santee mayor and council member) Jack Dale, encouraged me to run for the Santee city council.” Jones won that election and his victory kicked off his still-thriving political career. 

This would be the first of many election victories for Jones, who has been a Santee resident when he and his family moved there from Colorado when he was 10 years old. After graduating from high school and spending two years at community college, he transferred to SDSU. “I wanted a business degree and SDSU had, and still has, an excellent business school,” said Jones. “SDSU was also close to home, the tuition was the best deal in the country and it also had the best return on investment.” 

Once at SDSU, Jones chose to major in management. “I’ve always been a people person and had the instinct to assume leadership roles,” he said. “When I graduated from San Diego State, I was already in the management program at Domino’s Pizza. I started there as a delivery driver in 1988, worked my way up while I was in college, and was a general manager there for several years.” 

SDSU grad, Brian Jones, represents the 38th district in the California State Senate

Political Interest Becomes a Full-Time Career
Soon after his first election victory in 2002, Jones began working for a company that specialized in representing churches, non-profit organizations and schools in real estate transactions. He also served two four-year terms as a member of the city council in Santee until 2010, when he decided to pursue a political career full-time. That year, he was elected to a two-year term as the representative for the 77th district of the California State Assembly. 

Jones served a total of six years in the State Assembly until term limits made him ineligible in 2016. After working two years as a political and public relations consultant while simultaneously serving as a temporary appointee on the Santee city council, Jones threw his hat back into the political ring when he ran for the California State Senate’s 38th district seat in November of 2018. He was elected with 53 percent of the total number of votes. 

Lessons From SDSU Help to Build Career Foundation
As Jones enters his second year in the California State Senate, he still uses some of the lessons he learned while he was a student at SDSU. “One skill set I learned from earning a management degree was to be more of a generalist as opposed to being single-issue minded,” he explained. “This gives me the ability to be open-minded to the myriad of issues that we see in Sacramento and to be able to not get bogged down in one “silo”. I’m also able to serve as vice-chair on multiple committees while also serving as the chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. My management degree helped to build that foundation.”

Jones is not the only Aztec in his family: His son Christopher earned an engineering degree from SDSU in 2018 and his daughter, Melina will earn her bachelor’s degree in international business in May 2020.