{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJodi Jones is the Washington County Commissioner for District 11, currently serving her second term [1]. She is the Democratic candidate for re-election to the District 11 seat in the August 6, 2026 Washington County general election, and is the only candidate listed for the seat as of this writing [2].\n\n## Background and education\nJones holds a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh (1991) and a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from Auburn University (1998); per her campaign biography, she was the first in her family to earn an advanced degree [3].\n\n## Career\nJones \u2014 legal name Jodi Polaha Jones \u2014 is a clinical/pediatric psychologist and Associate Professor in the Division of Primary Care Research at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine, where she directs the university's Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health; she previously worked at the University of Nebraska Medical Center before joining ETSU's faculty in 2006 [3][4][5]. In 2025 she was named to Leadership Tennessee's yearlong Signature Program cohort [6][7].\n\n## Office history\nJones was elected to the Johnson City Development Authority board in 2017 [4]. In February 2017 she was among several nominees considered by the county commission to fill the District 4 seat vacated by David Tomita, but the appointment went to retired Chancellor Richard Johnson [8]. Jones was elected to the Commission's District 11 seat in May 2018 \u2014 per her campaign biography, the first Democrat ever elected to the Washington County Commission [3]. She was re-elected in 2022 and is seeking a third term in 2026 [1][2].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nAs chair of the commission's Health, Education and Welfare Committee, Jones has led the county's process for allocating its opioid settlement funds \u2014 soliciting proposals for spending Washington County's roughly $530,000 share and working with the sheriff's office on proposals including a $186,000 pre-arrest diversion program and $142,644 to hire a full-time clinician for mental-health assessments at the county detention center [9][10].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nJones was one of five commissioners who voted against the March 23, 2026 rezoning of 56 acres of BWXT property near Jonesborough for a depleted-uranium refining facility, which the commission approved 10-5. Before the vote, she said she had walked the proposed site and raised concerns that its hilly terrain was unsuited to a facility of that scale and that the project would bring disruptive industrial infrastructure into a quiet, rural neighborhood [11][12].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Jodi Jones \u2013 Washington County, TN](https://www.washingtoncountytn.org/219/Jodi-Jones) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [One Vote Election Project \u2014 Washington County, Tennessee Democracy Network](https://www.tndemocracynetwork.org/onevotewashington) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Jodi Jones for Washington County Commission \u2014 Bio](https://jodiforcounty.com/bio) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [Jodi Jones \u2014 Emerge Tennessee alumna profile](https://tn-2.emergeamerica.org/alumna/jodi-jones/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [Jodi Polaha Jones wears many hats in life, Johnson City Press](https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/living/jodi-polaha-jones-wears-many-hats-in-life/article_3d262ced-6242-5fb3-9f01-6c4b41585ab5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[6] [Dr. Jodi Polaha named for Leadership Tennessee Class XI, Times News](https://www.timesnews.net/news/appalachian-highlands/dr-jodi-polaha-named-for-leadership-tennessee-class-xi/article_d3330642-6c8d-5038-a981-7d22be60b3e8.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[7] [Dr. Jodi Polaha: Growing in leadership, ETSU News](https://news.etsu.edu/articles/jodi-polaha-named-to-leadership-tennessee-class-xi) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[8] [Jones seeks District 4 Washington County Commission seat, Johnson City Press](https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/news/local-news/jones-seeks-district-4-washington-county-commission-seat/article_b5b1c181-69a5-50e1-a144-d84a1eb1d016.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[9] [Washington County reaching out to its neighbors on drug issue, Herald & Tribune](https://www.heraldandtribune.com/news/washington-county-reaching-out-to-its-neighbors-on-drug-issue/article_d262d758-59da-11ec-b77d-3f4b9df4f10f.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[10] [Opioid settlement funds to address recidivism at county jail, Herald & Tribune](https://www.heraldandtribune.com/news/opioid-settlement-funds-to-address-recidivism-at-county-jail/article_2ea0af0e-6b26-51bc-8d1e-2334ac7b38f6.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[11] [Residents, commissioners respond to BWXT rezoning vote, WJHL](https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/residents-commissioners-respond-to-bwxt-rezoning-vote/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[12] [Washington County Commission approves BWXT's rezoning request, Kingsport Times News](https://timesnews.net/news/366024/washington-county-commission-approves-bwxts-rezoning-request/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 11"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"JODI","fullname":"JODI JONES","lastname":"JONES","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 11","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 11","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":"County Commissioner District 11","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Washington County Commissioner for District 11 since 2018 and ETSU clinical-psychology faculty member; seeking re-election as a Democrat in the Aug. 6, 2026 general election.","terms":[],"token":"uPqMVALgjR"}