[5] As a young activist he co-founded the Youth Movement to Clean Up Politics with Chaka Fattah[6] and also worked at House of Umoja.

[8] Jones is a graduate of Overbrook High School and received a professional certification from the American Contract Compliance Association and took courses at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government.

[8] In 1979 at age 22, he and Chaka Fattah ran as a team for Philadelphia City Commissioner in the Democratic primary, receiving the endorsement of the Black United Front.

[15] In 1992 he became president and CEO of the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corporation[16] where he served for 15 years before until resigning to run for City Council in 2007.

During his tenure on City Council, Jones has pursued criminal justice reforms such as ban-the-box and abolishing cash bail.

[24] Speaking on his frustration of the lack of attention toward Philadelphia's gun violence epidemic, he said "If 200 whales washed up on the shores of New Jersey, every scientist and biologist would come to find out why this was happening.

[30] During testimony on this legislation, City Council learned of the police killing of Walter Wallace, Jr.[31] Jones is vice-chair of the Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless committee.

[32] The legislation was inspired by the sale of the Penn Wynn Manor apartments, where the purchasing company told tenants their leases would not be renewed.

Jones said "You have a right to be a capitalist, but when you wholesale exploit people’s ignorance and poverty, then it is government’s responsibility to step up to the plate and provide protections, and that’s what I intend to do.

[37] In 2015 Jones introduced legislation to strengthen Philadelphia's Ban the Box law, which prohibits employers from asking an applicant about their criminal record.