{"id":2974,"date":"2026-01-13T07:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T12:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/?post_type=press&p=2974"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:51:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:51:41","slug":"sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause’s North Carolina State Director"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2974","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":"","related_issues":false,"related_work":false,"location":36},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Jones succeeds longtime director, Bob Phillips<\/i><\/b><\/h4>\r\nRALEIGH, NC \u2013 Today, Common Cause announced Sailor Jones, one of North Carolina\u2019s foremost democracy advocates, as state director for the Tar Heel state.\r\n\r\nHe succeeds Bob Phillips, who retired from the organization this month after helming Common Cause\u2019s North Carolina office for a quarter-century as a stalwart champion of voter empowerment and government accountability. During his time as director, Phillips built the largest Common Cause office in the organization\u2019s national network of grassroots advocates.\r\n\r\nJones played a key role in the growth of Common Cause\u2019s North Carolina statewide operation. Since 2022, he served as deputy director of Common Cause North Carolina, leading the organization\u2019s efforts to protect the freedom to vote, strengthen civic engagement, and ensure everyday people have a voice in democracy.\r\n\r\n\u201cSailor\u2019s wealth of experience perfectly positions him to continue Common Cause\u2019s long history of driving a more accountable, representative government in the Tar Heel state and beyond,\u201d said Virginia Kase Solom\u00f3n, President and CEO of Common Cause<\/b>. \u201cNorth Carolina is ground zero for fair maps, fair elections, and fair courts, and I\u2019m confident in Sailor\u2019s organizing and advocacy experience to unite diverse communities to protect access to the ballot box in a pivotal election year. We\u2019re profoundly grateful to Bob for his years of outstanding leadership and we look forward to seeing Sailor take our people-powered work to new heights.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIt thrills me to pass the torch to Sailor Jones,\u201d Phillips<\/b> said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a privilege to serve alongside Sailor and our Common Cause North Carolina family, as well as our members, supporters, and allies throughout these past two decades. I\u2019m thankful for what we\u2019ve accomplished together. As I move on from this phase of my career, I\u2019m so pleased to know Common Cause North Carolina is in Sailor\u2019s immensely capable hands. I can\u2019t wait to see the extraordinary things he and this dynamic team will achieve for our state, and I look forward to being a part of that as a Common Cause NC member.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m deeply appreciative of Bob for his incredible leadership and all he has done for our state. It\u2019s an honor to be part of the great team at Common Cause North Carolina,\u201d Jones<\/b> said. \u201cAs a proud North Carolinian, I love our state and its wonderful people \u2013 whether homegrown or newly arrived. I know that when we unite for a shared purpose, we can do anything. Our state deserves a thriving, multiracial democracy where everyone has a seat at the table. We\u2019ll keep fighting each day to reach that promise for all people in North Carolina.\u201d\r\n\r\nDuring his time at Common Cause North Carolina, Jones has played a key part in victories that include:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Winning at the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Harper,<\/i> ensuring voters \u2013 not politicians \u2013 decide North Carolina\u2019s elections;<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Galvanizing overwhelming public opposition against losing candidate Jefferson Griffin\u2019s failed attempt to overturn the 2024 NC Supreme Court election. Jones helped lead efforts to protect the rights of more than 60,000 North Carolinians whose ballots were unjustly challenged by Griffin;<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Connecting with communities across the state to build a grassroots campaign encouraging North Carolinians to use the power of their votes and engage in democracy year-round.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nPrior to joining Common Cause North Carolina, Jones was communications director with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and campaigns director with Democracy North Carolina. He has served in various roles with other North Carolina-based organizations, such as Equality NC, the League of Women Voters of NC, NARAL Pro Choice NC, NC AIDS Action Network, North Carolina For The People, and the North Carolina NAACP.\r\n\r\nJones hails from rural Eastern North Carolina and is a graduate of both UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University School of Law.\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\r\nCommon Cause is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.<\/i>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nSailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director - Common Cause North Carolina<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T13:51:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/\",\"name\":\"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director - Common Cause North Carolina\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-13T12:46:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T13:51:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause’s North Carolina State Director\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/\",\"name\":\"Common Cause North Carolina\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director - Common Cause North Carolina","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/","og_site_name":"Common Cause North Carolina","article_modified_time":"2026-01-14T13:51:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/","name":"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause's North Carolina State Director - Common Cause North Carolina","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-13T12:46:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-14T13:51:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/press\/sailor-jones-named-common-causes-north-carolina-state-director\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sailor Jones Named Common Cause’s North Carolina State Director"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/","name":"Common Cause North Carolina","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Common Cause North Carolina","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/2974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/2974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2994,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/2974\/revisions\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}