Herbert C. Jones was a state senator for Santa Clara County from 1913 to 1934 as well as a lawyer specializing in water conservation. Jones was born in Iowa in 1880 but was raised in San Jose and later attended Stanford where he received his law degree in 1904. Here he became interested in local politics and served on the Board of Trustees of Hester District as well as being part of the Sempervirens Club. From there he was elected as a state senator during a special election in 1913 after Marshall Black was recalled. Jones attempted to run for governor in 1933 but dropped out before the primaries and returned to law. In this interview Jones discusses his early career, local politics in Santa Clara County, the Progressive era in California, California legislation including regulation and licensing, health and welfare, Immigration Act of 1924 (listed as Oriental exclusion), education, highways, and taxation. He also discusses public debt, morals, water and power, the methods of passing legislation, comments on Governors William D. Stephens, Friend W. Richardson, C. C. Young, and James J. Rolph, Jr., water problems in the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District (1921-29), Central Valley Project and the Hetch Hetchy. This interview is part of a group of interviews documenting regional cultural history.