The Honorable Peter Lawson Jones

Politician and lawyer Peter Lawson Jones was born on December 23, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio to Margaret Hoiston Jones and Charles Jones. He graduated with his B.A. degree in government from Harvard University in 1975. After graduation, Jones served as a press and legislative aide to U.S. Congresswoman Yvonne Braithwaite Burke of Los Angeles, California. In 1976, he worked as a speechwriter for Governor Jimmy Carter before graduating from Harvard Law School with his J.D. degree in 1980.

Upon completing law school, Jones served as a law clerk to Ohio Supreme Court Justice Ralph S. Locher from 1982 to 1983. The following year, he was elected to the Shaker Heights City Council, where he later served as vice mayor in 1986. During this time, Jones participated on multiple municipal boards and committees, including those overseeing recreation, governance, fair housing review, community services, police, fire, and public affairs. In 1994, Jones made history as the first African American nominated to run for lieutenant governor of Ohio, campaigning alongside State Senator Rob Burch. Three years later, in 1997, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served until 2002, That same year, Jones was elected Cuyahoga County Commissioner, serving from 2002 to 2010. During his tenure, he helped oversee one of the state’s largest county governments. Concurrently, from 1999 to 2009, he was a partner at Roetzel & Andress, a law firm based in Akron, Ohio.

In addition to his career, Jones authored several plays for the stage, including The Family Line in 1975, The Bloodless Jungle in 2016, The Phoenix Society in 2022. The Bloodless Jungle was honored with an Achievement Award from the Cleveland, Ohio-based LAND of CLEVE entertainment group. Jones has also appeared in such films as Battle Hill in 2011, White Boy Rick in 2018, Judas and the Black Messiah in 2021, A Man Named Otto in 2022, and Last Shop on Walnut in 2023.

Jones served on the boards of the Harvard Law School Association of Cleveland, the Ohio Arts Council, the Shaker Heights Arts Council, the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, and the Baseball Heritage Museum. He was a member of SAG-AFTRA and the Actors’ Equity Association.

Throughout his career, Jones has received numerous honors and awards, including the Ohio School Counselors Association Legislator of the Year award in 2000; the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board Helping Hands Legislator of the Year Award in 2006; and the City of Shaker Heights Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Special Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Jones was included in Inside Business magazine’s Power One Hundred list from 2004 to 2008 and was in the Most Interesting People regional list in Cleveland magazine in 2008. Jones also received the Artist of the Year Award from the African American Playwrights Exchange in 2012 and the Best Ohio Supporting Actor Award from the Indie Gathering International Film Festival in 2016.

The Honorable Peter Lawson Jones was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 7, 2023.