Elizabeth Ames Jones

Who is Elizabeth Ames Jones?

Elizabeth Ames Jones is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Railroad Commission, the regulatory body over petroleum and natural gas.

From 2000 to 2005, Jones held the District 121 seat from Bexar County in the Texas House. In the Republican primary held on March 14, 2000, she handily ousted incumbent Representative Bill Siebert, who had held the position since 1993. The tabulation was 8,053 votes to 4,082. At the time she unseated Siebert, Jones was a political unknown from the Alamo Heights section of San Antonio. Siebert's political demise came after his ongoing work as a lobbyist was highlighted by the San Antonio Express-News. An Express-News editorial called upon Republican voters to "clean house and dump" Siebert, whom it called "the local GOP's biggest embarrassment."

Jones was re-elected to the state House in 2002 and 2004. In her second legislative term, she was elected vice chairman of the House Republican Caucus, the first woman in that leadership position.