 Vernon Jones ( born October 31 , 1960 ) is an African @-@ American Democratic politician from US state of Georgia . Jones served as chief executive officer of Dekalb County , Georgia , from 2001 until 2009 , and in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 . As Dekalb County CEO , Jones presided over the Board of Commissioners , oversaw a 7 @,@ 000 employee county workforce , and managed a $ 2 @.@ 6 billion county operating budget . He unsuccessfully ran for the US Senate in 2008 . 
