Mike Thurmond

Last updated

Mike Thurmond
Michael Thurmond.jpg
Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2017

In 1986, he became the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since Reconstruction. During his legislative tenure, Thurmond authored major legislation that has provided more than $250 million in tax relief to Georgia's senior citizens and working families.

Following his legislative service, he led the state Division of Family and Children's Services and directed Georgia's historic transition from welfare to work. He created the innovative Work First program, which helped over 90,000 welfare-dependent Georgia families move from dependence into the workforce.

In 1997, Thurmond became a distinguished lecturer at the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The following year in November, he was elected Georgia Labor Commissioner, becoming the first non-incumbent African American to be elected to statewide office in Georgia.

During his three terms as commissioner, the Georgia Labor Department underwent a major transformation in customer service and efficiency. His Georgia Works program has earned national praise and bi-partisan support. President Barack Obama based part of the American Jobs Act after the Georgia Works model. Thurmond's most gratifying accomplishment as a public official was the construction of a $20 million school for young people with disabilities at the historic Roosevelt Institute in Warm Springs, Georgia.

In 2016, Thurmond decided to run for the open DeKalb County C.E.O.'s office being vacated by term-limited incumbent Democrat Burrell Ellis. He won overwhelmingly in the Democratic Primary, and went on to win by a significant margin over his Republican opponent in the November 2016 General Election. Thurmond began his four-year term on January 1, 2017.

He is the recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees from Clark Atlanta University and LaGrange College. Thurmond has also served as a motivational speaker to state school board associations in nine Southern states on issues regarding leadership, diversity, and public education advocacy in the 21st century.

He presently serves on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society.

U.S. Senate campaign

In April 2010, Thurmond announced his intention to run for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson. [2] He easily defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary, county employee RJ Hadley, on July 20. [3] He lost the general election to Isakson and was succeeded as Commissioner of Labor by former state representative Mark Butler, a member of the Republican Party.

Publications

Thurmond's book, Freedom: Georgia's Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865, [4] was awarded the Georgia Historical Society's Lilla Hawes Award. [5] The Georgia Center for the Book listed Freedom on its 2005 list of The 25 Books All Georgians Should Read. [6]

Personal life

He is married to Zola Fletcher Thurmond, and they have one daughter, Mikaya Thurmond. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "电竞赛事竞猜_王者荣耀赛事_中国电竞竞猜网".
  2. ↑ AJC: Emotional Thurmond announces run for U.S. Senate
  3. ↑ AJC: U.S. Senate election results Archived July 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ OCLC   607001888
  5. ↑ "Biographical sketch" (PDF). Georgia Historical Society. August 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Books All Georgians Should Read". Georgia Center for the Book. DeKalb County Public Library. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Mike Thurmond's Biography". Vote Smart . Retrieved November 11, 2023.

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References

Political offices
Preceded by Labor Commissioner of Georgia
1999–2011		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Labor Commissioner of Georgia
1998, 2002, 2006		Succeeded by
Darryl Hicks
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Georgia
(Class 3)
2010 		Succeeded by
Jim Barksdale
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