State Rep. Don Jones, R-95th Dist., has been tapped by the president to become the state executive director for the Ohio Farm Service Agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Jones has already been a fighter for farmers, sponsoring legislation that helped support them with funding after severe drought; and improving laws to address the harm done to the state’s livestock industry by feral swine.

Now he has a chance to embrace a new role in that fight.

“The 95th District may have changed its configuration since my beginning in 2019, but one thing has remained the same — it is still a hardworking, blue-collar district, full of people who are proud of their values, morals and integrity,” Jones said. “I would like to say, ‘thank you’ to those who have supported me through this journey and ask that you continue to work to make Appalachia the very best place to live, work and raise a family.”

Those are important words to bear in mind for anyone hoping to fill Jones’s shoes.

The search for that person began this week, with a screening panel interviewing those who hope to receive the appointment. Those on the panel must remember Jones was elected by his constituents because they wanted HIM to represent them in Columbus. Finding the right fit should be as much about trying to keep those voters in mind as anything else. The person in that seat will be their voice in the state House of Representatives.

Voters in Harrison, Noble and Morgan counties as well as some of Belmont, Guernsey and Athens counties wanted specific qualities in the person they elected. While we wish Jones well on his next endeavor, we hope members of the panel will remember that as they figure out who will next represent the 95th District.