Jerry Thomas (Louisiana politician)
Encyclopedia
Jerry Aroe Thomas is a family practice physician
in Franklinton
, Louisiana
, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
from 1988 to 2004. In 1979, at the age of twenty-six, Thomas was elected coroner
of Washington Parish
, the easternmost of the Florida Parishes
in the southeastern portion of his state. He remained coroner from 1980 until he took his legislative seat in 1988.
degree from Southeastern Louisiana University
in Hammond
in neighboring Tangipahoa Parish
. He received his M.D. credentials from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
Democrat
to the Louisiana House of Representatives
in the nonpartisan blanket primary held in October 1987. At the age of 34, Thomas unseated the long-term Democratic incumbent
, Lawrence A. Sheridan
of Angie
in Washington Parish, who was 34 years Thomas' senior. District 75 still encompasses Tangipahoa and Washington parishes. Thomas polled 9,266 votes (60.2 percent) to Sheridan's 6,121 (39.8 percent). In 1991, Sheridan sought a comeback but again lost to Thomas by an identical percentage: 6,312 (39.8 percent) to 9,532 (60.2 percent). Sheridan had been chairman of the House Retirement Committee during much of his 28-year tenure in the House.
In 1995, Thomas won his last term in the House by defeating his successor in both the House and the Senate, Ben W. Nevers
, an electrical contractor from Bogalusa.In October 1999, Nevers was unopposed for Thomas's former House seat.
In 1999, Thomas switched to Republican
affiliation to enter the special election
for the District 12 seat in the state Senate from St. Helena
, St. Tammany
, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. After only three years of service, the Republican Phil Short
resigned from the seat to re-enter the United States Marine Corps
. In the 1995 general election
, Short had unexpectedly unseated the legendary B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn
of Bogalusa. Rayburn's former district appeared to have turned solidly Republican in the special election of February 6, 1999, when the sole Democratic candidate, Stanley Middleton, polled only 9 percent of the vote. Republican-convert Thomas won the position outright in the first round of balloting with 51 percent of the vote.
In October 1999, Thomas won the nonpartisan blanket primary for the full Senate term (2000–2004), again over Stanley Middleton, 76-24 percent. Thomas completed the final year of his Senate term but did not run again in 2003. Instead in October 2003, Representative Ben Nevers won Thomas' former Senate seat with 43 percent of the primary ballots when the second-place candidate, Republican Richard E. Tanner (born 1942) of Covington
, the seat of St. Tammany Parish, trailed with 21 percent and then withdrew from the general election.
Thomas is a member of the First Baptist
Church of Franklinton. He has also been affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce
, Rotary International
, and the Washington Parish Livestock Association. He is married to the former Lou Ann Pitre (born February 26, 1954), and they are the parents of four children. Thomas has been active in many community affairs, including the building of a new branch library in Franklinton, the seat of Washington Parish.
Thomas served on the Senate committees of Agriculture, Transportation, Highways & Public Works, and Insurance. He was credited with assuring state funding of hospitals within his district during a time of budget cuts for such facilities. Thomas contributed to Republicans David Vitter
and David C. Treen
, when both contested the U.S. House special election in 1999. He also donated to future U.S. Senator Vitter as a congressman and to the gubernatorial campaigns of Bobby Jindal
.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Franklinton
Franklinton, Louisiana
Franklinton is a town in and the parish seat of Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,657 at the 2000 census. It is an average of above sea level....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1988 to 2004. In 1979, at the age of twenty-six, Thomas was elected coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
of Washington Parish
Washington Parish, Louisiana
Washington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....
, the easternmost of the Florida Parishes
Florida Parishes
The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...
in the southeastern portion of his state. He remained coroner from 1980 until he took his legislative seat in 1988.
Early life
Thomas was the son of Aroe Thomas (1930–1994) of Franklinton. He graduated from Thomas High School in Franklinton and received a Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
in Hammond
Hammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
in neighboring Tangipahoa Parish
Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Tangipahoa Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. The parish seat is Amite City, but the major city is Hammond. As of 2006, the population was 113,137...
. He received his M.D. credentials from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
Political life
Thomas was initially elected as aDemocrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
in the nonpartisan blanket primary held in October 1987. At the age of 34, Thomas unseated the long-term Democratic incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
, Lawrence A. Sheridan
Lawrence A. Sheridan
Lawrence A. Sheridan, known as Buster Sheridan , was from 1960-1988 a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the village of Angie in Washington Parish, the most easterly of the Florida Parishes of southeastern Louisiana...
of Angie
Angie, Louisiana
Angie is a village in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 240 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Angie is located at ....
in Washington Parish, who was 34 years Thomas' senior. District 75 still encompasses Tangipahoa and Washington parishes. Thomas polled 9,266 votes (60.2 percent) to Sheridan's 6,121 (39.8 percent). In 1991, Sheridan sought a comeback but again lost to Thomas by an identical percentage: 6,312 (39.8 percent) to 9,532 (60.2 percent). Sheridan had been chairman of the House Retirement Committee during much of his 28-year tenure in the House.
In 1995, Thomas won his last term in the House by defeating his successor in both the House and the Senate, Ben W. Nevers
Ben Nevers
Ben Wayne Nevers is an electrical contractor from Bogalusa, Louisiana, who has been since 2004 a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 12, which includes parts of Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes...
, an electrical contractor from Bogalusa.In October 1999, Nevers was unopposed for Thomas's former House seat.
In 1999, Thomas switched to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
affiliation to enter the special election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for the District 12 seat in the state Senate from St. Helena
St. Helena Parish, Louisiana
St. Helena Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Greensburg. As of 2000, its population was 10,525.St. Helena Parish is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Baton Rouge–Pierre Part Combined Statistical Area.-History:For the past...
, St. Tammany
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. After only three years of service, the Republican Phil Short
Phil Short
Philip Granville Short, known as Phil Short , is a retired military officer formerly of Covington, Louisiana, USA, who served in the Louisiana State Senate from District 12 from 1996 to 1999...
resigned from the seat to re-enter the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. In the 1995 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Short had unexpectedly unseated the legendary B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn
Sixty Rayburn
Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Sr., known as B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn , was a veteran politician from Bogalusa, an incorporated city in Washington Parish in southeastern Louisiana in the United States...
of Bogalusa. Rayburn's former district appeared to have turned solidly Republican in the special election of February 6, 1999, when the sole Democratic candidate, Stanley Middleton, polled only 9 percent of the vote. Republican-convert Thomas won the position outright in the first round of balloting with 51 percent of the vote.
In October 1999, Thomas won the nonpartisan blanket primary for the full Senate term (2000–2004), again over Stanley Middleton, 76-24 percent. Thomas completed the final year of his Senate term but did not run again in 2003. Instead in October 2003, Representative Ben Nevers won Thomas' former Senate seat with 43 percent of the primary ballots when the second-place candidate, Republican Richard E. Tanner (born 1942) of Covington
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
, the seat of St. Tammany Parish, trailed with 21 percent and then withdrew from the general election.
Thomas is a member of the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of Franklinton. He has also been affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, and the Washington Parish Livestock Association. He is married to the former Lou Ann Pitre (born February 26, 1954), and they are the parents of four children. Thomas has been active in many community affairs, including the building of a new branch library in Franklinton, the seat of Washington Parish.
Thomas served on the Senate committees of Agriculture, Transportation, Highways & Public Works, and Insurance. He was credited with assuring state funding of hospitals within his district during a time of budget cuts for such facilities. Thomas contributed to Republicans David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
and David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
, when both contested the U.S. House special election in 1999. He also donated to future U.S. Senator Vitter as a congressman and to the gubernatorial campaigns of Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
.