Thomas Campaigns on Education Reform, Jobs

Editor's note: Early voting began Monday for the July 31 General Primary that pairs Democrats Ken Britt and ‘Able’ Mable Thomas facing each other for the district 56 seat being vacated by Kathy Ashe. Because there is no Republican running, whoever wins the primary will win the seat. See here for a profile on Britt.

Mable Thomas did not plan on returning to her old job as a legislator, until some of her former constituents strongly encouraged her to run for district 56’s seat, which Kathy Ashe will vacate in January.

Thomas, who represented district 55 from 1985-1992 and again from 2002-2008, was recently redistricted into the 56th, which now includes west Atlanta neighborhoods such as English Avenue, Washington Park and Hunter Hulls in addition to most of Midtown.

When 10 of her former precincts were incorporated into the new district, Thomas said she saw an opportunity to return to the state house.

During this race, Thomas has been adamant about the need for improving education in Atlanta public schools. “I think we need full quality based funding,” she said. She is also supportive of teacher innovation and new ideas in the classroom.

On her website, Thomas underscores the need for educational reform by reminding voters that Georgia’s high school graduation rate is 46^th in the nation.

Job creation is another issue at the center of Thomas’ platform. “I want to see my people in leadership positions,” she said. Thomas hopes that the creation of local jobs that can be developed into careers will encourage ownership of the community.

Thomas is supportive of economic development initiatives in district 56, like the creation of another Walmart and the new Atlanta Falcons Stadium.

One proposition that Thomas is ambivalent on is T-SPLOST, the transportation sales tax that will be voted on at the end of the month. Thomas said that she is studying the issue before taking a formal position. “I’m leaning towards supporting the issue, but I don’t want the west side of Atlanta to be left behind,” she said.

This is Thomas’s second attempt to return to the state legislature since her unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2008, when she challenged John Lewis of Georgia’s 5^th congressional district.  

In 2010, Thomas challenged Rashad Taylor for her old seat, but lost by a small margin. She attributes this failure in part to her decision to endorse Mary Norwood, a former city councilman, during the 2009 mayoral race. While Thomas declined to speak in depth about endorsing Norwood, she said that the [Atlanta Mayor Kasim] Reed administration hindered her campaign against Taylor.

Ken Britt, a retired lawyer, is running against Thomas. Although Ashe has endorsed Britt, Thomas is optimistic about her chances. “I’m the best qualified candidate,” she said, alluding to her legislative experience, “Sometimes when you have the reputation of being a community activist, people don’t look further.”