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RALEIGH — If nothing else, Rep. Earl Jones knows how to grab a headline.

This year alone, the Greensboro Democrat has sponsored legislation to return video poker to the state, two bills that would legalize medical marijuana, a measure urging stores to provide sanitizing wipes for shopping carts and a funding request for a Starfleet Academy complex at N.C. A&T.

Yes, as in “Live long and prosper.”

Strangely enough, when Jones spent time in July shepherding a Senate proposal to regulate possession of exotic reptiles through the House, it was one of the least exotic bills he handled this year.

“Just because I’m a visionary and have insight that other people may not have, that doesn’t mean I should stifle myself from leading people or trying to lead the legislature into forward-thinking laws that benefit the public,” Jones said last week, standing in the courtyard between the House and Senate chambers.

Jones, 60, is a four-term legislator. He was first elected a year after he was ousted from an 18-year run on the Greensboro City Council.

He has been married for 36 years. A lawyer by training, Jones is now the publisher of the Greensboro Times newspaper.

During his legislative run, Jones has never been one to shy away from bills that push political buttons. In 2005 and 2007, he championed measures to fund embryonic stem-cell research, controversial because of divergent beliefs about when human life begins. At the time, research funding was limited by the federal government.

Those restrictions have been eased considerably by President Barack Obama .

“The future caught up with me,” Jones said.

That cocksure attitude comes through when Jones talks about his current quest to make video poker a legally sanctioned industry again in North Carolina.

The General Assembly voted to ban the games in 2006. Lawmakers were spurred by the creation of a state lottery and corruption investigations that looked into then-House Speaker Jim Black’s dealings with the industry. Black is now serving jail time on corruption charges not directly related to the games.

Jones said a legalized video poker industry could bring in $500 million per year to state coffers and head off the unregulated proliferation of sweepstakes-style gambling machines that are finding their way into convenience stores.

“It was a mess, and that’s not ancient history,” said Bob Hall , who heads the watchdog group Democracy North Carolina. Hall filed the original video poker complaint against Black and sees its return as bad for the state. Hall said he doesn’t take issue with Jones personally but disagrees with the policy he’s pushing.

In fact, other legislators like Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville and Rep. Ray Rapp of Mars Hill are pushing legislation to stamp out the last vestiges of video poker.

“I have great respect and admiration for Rep. Jones,” Rapp said last week. “But on this one issue, he’s trying to take us down a path that’s wrong for the state.”

Jones has a two-word answer for the criticism.

“They’re wrong,” he said.

The state already runs a lottery, and Jones said he sees little philosophical space between that and video poker.

Jones has been pressing his case for video poker in closed-door meetings of the House Democratic Caucus. Few think he will succeed this year.

“He doesn’t mind tackling issues that are somewhat controversial,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, the House majority leader from Lexington and No. 2 ranking member of the caucus.

Holliman said the memory of problems surrounding video poker during Black’s tenure as speaker would likely ward off attempts to return the games to the state this year, but he doesn’t fault Jones for trying.

“He’s a very active member; he doesn’t mind giving you his input,” Holliman said. “And certainly he’s respected within our caucus, and we all know that he’s going to stand up for what he thinks is right.”

Those stands don’t always work out.

Democratic leaders have been unwilling to unearth the can of political worms that is the medical marijuana debate. And Jones’ bill to encourage stores to offer their customers sanitary wipes to clean shopping cart handles failed on a 44-73 vote amid howls about burdensome regulations and cries that consumers should look after their own health — or at least wash their own hands.

Last week, a conservative think tank in Raleigh took aim at a bill he filed to honor the late Ronald McNair, a NASA astronaut and A&T graduate, by creating a “Starfleet Academy complex” at A&T.

The measure, filed in April, never came close to inclusion in this year’s budget.

Jones is seemingly oblivious to the “Star Trek” jokes — including one Internet video parody that lampoons his bill. He said the project could help spur science education by playing on the popular science fiction series’ brand.

“I don’t worry about that,” Jones said. “When I talked to them a couple of months ago, I told them the possibility or chances of it getting funded are pretty much zero to none. But at least it’s out there getting debated; people can examine it.”

Rep. John Blust, a Greensboro Republican, heard Jones talking about the academy outside the House chamber and added his two cents.

“If this is ultimately successful, will some day I be able to be beamed up?” Blust joked.

Jones faces at least one challenger in the 2010 election — Marcus Brandon is already raising money for his run against Jones in the Democratic primary — and some of Jones’ positions could prove politically perilous.

At the least, they could take away from items that some constituents might like to see get more attention.

“Video poker is not an issue for me one way or the other,” said the Rev. Cardes Brown , a well-known preacher and NAACP leader who said he is giving his individual support to Brandon . Neither the NAACP nor his church are allowed to endorse candidates.

“What my number is is 8/40 — eight hours a day, 40 hours a week,” Brown said. “We need people to go up and speak for the issues and concerns of the people.

“My issue is more, 'What are you fighting for legislatively that’s really in the interest of the citizenry?’”

Jones said he’s determined to chart his own legislative course, damn the torpedoes — photon, political or otherwise — all in the interest of the citizens in his district.

“Once I come to a conclusion this is in the best interest of the public, I don’t look at other considerations,” Jones said.

An unlucky campaign season or freak accident could keep him from returning to the General Assembly, Jones said. So there’s no time like the present to push policies in which he’s interested.

“Because the thing about it is,” Jones said, “ain’t nothing guaranteed except when you’re here. If you operate on 'maybe I’ll do it next time,’ or 'maybe I’ll do it in an off year,’ or 'this is a political year,’ you can’t operate like that.

“This is guaranteed right now. OK? … Some people drop dead.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com