William Leon Jones (born December 20, 1949) is an American politician from California who served in the California State Assembly and later served as California's 25th Secretary of State. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of California in 2002 as well as an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from California in 2004 against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Early life Born in Coalinga, California, Jones earned his bachelor's degree in agribusiness and plant sciences from California State University, Fresno in 1971. Member of the California State Assembly In 1976, Jones began his political career with an unsuccessful run for the 31st District State Assembly seat against then State Senate aide and future Congressman Richard H. Lehman. Lehman defeated Jones by just under ten points and went on to represent the Fresno-based Assembly district for six years before being elected to the U.S. House. Jones spent those six years working as a farmer. After the redistricting of 1982, Jones again sought a seat in the state legislature. This time, Jones soundly defeated Democrat Clyde Gould for California's 32nd Assembly District seat. Jones easily won reelection five times, carrying at least 69% of the vote in each election and twice running unopposed for the seat. Jones served in the Assembly from 1982 to 1994. Proposition 184 One of Jones's most notable contributions while in the Assembly was authoring Proposition 184, California's three-strikes law, which passed with 72%. In 2000, 61% of California voters supported Proposition 36, which scaled the three-strikes law back by supporting drug treatment instead of life in prison for many convicted of possessing drugs. During the November 2004 elections, Proposition 66, which would have further limited California's three-strikes law, was voted down at the polls by 53% of the voters. Assembly leadership For years, Jones was an intra-party adversary of Assembly Republican Leader Ross Johnson, and nearly ousted him from the party leadership. After authoring Proposition 184, Jones was elected the Assembly Republican Leader in 1991. In that capacity, Jones worked with the newly elected Republican Governor Pete Wilson, supporting Wilson's plans to limit gerrymandering and raise taxes to cut the budget deficit. Due to more competitive districts, Republicans expected large gains in the 1992 election. However, the coattails of Democratic Presidential nominee Bill Clinton and the general strength of the Democratic Party in California led to disappointing results for Republican candidates. After the Republicans' weak