Mable Thomas

Mable Able Thomas[1] (born November 8, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for District 56. She previously represented District 55, which includes areas immediately west and southwest of Downtown Atlanta and areas west and northwest of Midtown Atlanta.[2]

Mable Able Thomas
Member of the
Georgia House of Representatives
from the 56th district
Assumed office
January 14, 2013
Member of the Atlanta City Council
In office
1997–2003
Member of the
Georgia House of Representatives
from the 55th district
In office
1985–1993
2003–2009
Personal details
Born
Mable Thomas

(1957-11-08) November 8, 1957
Atlanta, Georgia
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materGeorgia State University (BS)

Early life and education

The daughter of Bernard and Madie Thomas, Mable Thomas was born on November 8, 1957 and raised in the English Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest of five children.[3][4] Her father was a boiler operator.[5][6]

Thomas graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1975.[5] She then earned a scholarship to Georgia State University to play for the Georgia State Panthers women's basketball team, and earned a Bachelor of Science in public administration in 1982.[5][7][8]

Career

Thomas' political career started when she was chosen as a presidential delegate for candidate Jesse Jackson at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.[5] In the same year, she won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Grace Towns Hamilton in the Democratic primary, thus becoming the youngest member of the Georgia General Assembly.[9][10] She served four terms. In 1997, she launched a successful campaign for a seat on the Atlanta City Council. In 2003, she returned to the Georgia House for six years.[11][12][13]

In 1992 and 2008, Thomas challenged John Lewis to represent Georgia's 5th congressional district.[1] Both times, Lewis defeated her in the Democratic primary. In July 2010, she ran for her old Georgia House seat but lost to Rashad Taylor in the primary.[14]

On October 27, 2019, Thomas announced her candidacy for United States Senate at the SisterSong Let's Talk about Sex Reproductive Justice conference.[15]

In March 2020, Thomas announced that she would not seek re-election in November.[16]

After the death of incumbent Congressman John Lewis, Thomas was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Lewis on the November general election ballot.[17] State Senator and State Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams was eventually selected to succeed Lewis on the November ballot. Thomas is a candidate for the special election to serve Lewis's full term in Congress, but did not advance to the December 2020 runoff election.[18]

Personal life

Thomas is often referred to by the nickname "Able" or "Able Mable", which was coined by a colleague around 1984.[19][20] She later made it her legal middle name.[1] Thomas is a member of the Cosmopolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta.[5]

References
  1. Campbell, Colin (July 5, 2001). "Candidate feels 'able' to empower the people". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B3. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  2. Georgia Legislature District 55 map, 2009 Archived 2011-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
  3. The World Who's who of Women. 1990. ISBN 9780948875106.
  4. "Funeral Notices". The Atlanta Constitution. February 6, 1978. p. 6-C. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  5. Graham, Keith (September 26, 1983). "Mable". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 9-B. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  6. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - "Able" Mable Thomas". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  7. Mable Thomas' Biography
  8. "From GSU student-athlete to House representative". The Signal. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. Graham, Keith (September 26, 1983). "Able Mable Thomas wants to live up to her campaign label". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 1-B. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  10. Dixon, Princella (September 28, 1984). "Georgia's Youngest State Legislator Honored". The Atlanta Voice. p. 8. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  11. Ippolito, Milo (August 29, 2002). "'Able' Mable returns". The Atlanta Constitution. p. JD1. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  12. "Able" Mable Thomas campaign website
  13. "Representative "Able" Mable Thomas". www.house.ga.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  14. "State Rep. Rashad Taylor Comes Out of the Closet", Atlanta Progressive News, May 27, 2011
  16. Mar 6, Project Q. Atlanta |; Pm, 2020 | 2:02. "Two anti-LGBTQ lawmakers retiring from Georgia legislature". Project Q. Retrieved 2020-07-19.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. "The process of replacing Rep. John Lewis in the US House". 11Alive.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  18. Bluestein, Greg; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Several prominent Democrats line up to succeed John Lewis in Congress". ajc. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  19. "Able Mable Thomas". www.bgca.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  20. Prabhu, Maya T.; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Retiring Georgia legislators take decades of knowledge with them". ajc. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
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