Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, was caught driving 116 mph three years ago and performed 500 hours of his mandated community service for his own political action committee, court records show.
Mr. Jones, 36, received the reckless driving conviction for going 46 mph over the 70 mph limit on Interstate 64 in New Kent County on Jan. 21, 2022.
While Mr. Jones avoided a potential year behind bars for the offense, records show he did pay a $1,500 fine and spent half of his 1,000 court-ordered community service hours helping out his PAC, Meet Our Moment.
The former state delegate from Norfolk had his adviser, Lesley Shinbaum Stewart, sign off on the community service hours in court papers.
“Several years ago, I made the mistake of speeding, for which I am regretful,” Mr. Jones said in a statement to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which first reported the charges. “I accepted responsibility for my actions, paid the fine and fulfilled my responsibility to the court, which was accepted by the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the judge.”
Attorney General Jason Miyares, the state’s Republican incumbent, bashed his Democratic challenger for duping the court with the self-serving punishment.
“Instead of taking accountability for his actions, it appears that my opponent submitted a letter to the Court stating that he performed 500 hours of ’community service’ for his own PAC, which isn’t a charitable organization under state code, to dodge potential jail time,” Mr. Miyares wrote Wednesday on X.
“This raises serious, troubling questions about Jay Jones’ judgment, his ability to uphold the law and, ultimately, his qualifications for Attorney General,” he added.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican not running for reelection because of a term limit, also chimed in on the reckless driving conviction
“The job of attorney general is way too important to leave to someone who would recklessly break the law and endanger the lives of others, and then mislead the Courts and the public by claiming he performed community service while working on his own political operation,” the governor posted on X.
According to a Sept. 18 poll from Christopher Newport University, Mr. Jones leads Mr. Miyares by seven points among likely voters, with 48% going for the Democrat and 41% for the Republican. Twelve percent of respondents said they remain undecided.
Mr. Jones represented Virginia’s 89th District in the House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022.
He also spent time working in the Office of the Attorney General. He ran in the Democratic primary for the AG position in 2021, but lost the nomination to former Attorney General Mark Herring.
Virginia voters will head to the polls Nov. 4 to elect a governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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