David Jones, who owns a prominent real estate firm, has added his name to the growing list of Republicans seeking to become Maine’s next governor.
Jones formally announced Tuesday his bid to succeed Gov. Janet Mills. The Falmouth resident is the owner of F.O. Bailey Real Estate. He previously founded a commercial construction company that built high- and low-rise buildings, apartments and single-family homes.
Jones also self-funded residential development projects and worked with public agencies on historical restoration initiatives in Maine after moving here in the late 1990s.
“I love this state,” Jones, 69, said. “There’s nothing about it I don’t like except the way it’s run.”
The native of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, said he grew up the oldest of five siblings in a “very poor” family, with a father who was a World War II veteran and mechanic and a mother who worked two waitressing jobs. He learned trades and moved to Florida after high school, where he “worked my way up” in development and construction before he and his family eventually moved to the Somerset County town of Bingham in 1997.
Jones, who has a wife, Nancy, and six children, said he purchased and restored buildings in Bingham before the family moved to Falmouth in the early 2000s. Jones ran for Maine governor as an independent in 2006 and qualified for the ballot, but he dropped out of the race a few months before the November election, citing his longshot status in a large field.
He said Monday his self-employment contributed to his desire to consider all viewpoints regardless of party affiliation. Jones mentioned “efficiency in government,” education, safety and lowering taxes as among his areas of focus.
“If it’s a good idea, I don’t care where it comes from,” Jones said. “That’s why I think I’ve been successful in life, is because I’m willing to listen.”
While Jones said he longs for the days of the late President Ronald Reagan, when “Republicans and Democrats could actually have a conversation,” he also touted his support of the current occupant of the White House. Jones noted he previously met President Donald Trump and started the political committee Making Maine Great Again to help Trump in 2016.
“I’ve met him and talked with the guy, and he’s pretty freaking smart,” Jones said. “He’s a man of action.”
The Republican side of the gubernatorial field is expanding. Sen. Jim Libby, R-Standish, who sought the party’s 2002 nomination, registered to run last week. Bobby Charles, a Leeds resident and lawyer who served under several former Republican presidents, announced his bid in April, while former Paris selectman Robert Wessels entered the race more than a year ago.
Entrepreneur Owen McCarthy and former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason are considering bids and joined Jones, Charles and Wessels at a forum before a crowd of conservatives last week in Old Orchard Beach.
The Democratic side grew Monday with the long-awaited entrance of former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a logger from Allagash. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former clean energy executive Angus King III, the son of U.S. Sen. Angus King, are in the race as well.
