Jerry Thomasson

Jerry Kreth Thomasson
Arkansas State Representative from Clark County
In office 1963 – 1966
Personal details
Born	October 17, 1931(1931-10-17) Arkadelphia, Clark County Arkansas, USA
Died	April 29, 2007(2007-04-29) (aged 75)
Political party	Democrat-turned-Republican (1966)
Spouse(s)	Dortha Juanita Yates Thomasson (married 1960-2007, his death)
Children	Two children
Residence	Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Alma mater	Arkadelphia High School Henderson State University University of Arkansas School of Law
Occupation	Attorney

Jerry Kreth Thomasson (October 17, 1931 — April 29, 2007) was a Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He switched to the Republican Party in 1966, and unsuccessfully sought election as Arkansas attorney general in 1966 and 1968.

Early years

Thomasson was born in Arkadelphia, the seat of staunchly Democratic Clark County in south central Arkansas, to Joseph Baron Thomasson and the former Gertrude Dean.

He graduated in 1949 from Arkadelphia High School and attended Henderson State Teachers College there. He was a veteran of the Korean War. In 1959, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville.

Family

In 1960, Thomasson married Dortha Juanita Yates (born July 6, 1937). The couple wed in Bismarck in Hot Spring County and had a son and a daughter.

Career

Legal Career

Thomasson was in private law practice for eight years with Huie, Huie & Thomasson in Arkadelphia. He was a referee for the Arkansas Workmen’s Compensation Commission from 1960–1961. From 1959–1960, Thomasson was the librarian of the Arkansas Supreme Court when James Douglas Johnson of Conway was an associate justice. Thomasson was also a past chairman for the Legal Aid Committee of the Arkansas Bar Association.

Public service career

As a Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1962–1966), Thomasson introduced legislation to add the white safety lines to the outside edges of Arkansas highways. He introduced the 1967 bill to change Henderson State Teachers College to Henderson State College, which occurred in 1985. When Thomasson ran for attorney general in 1966, he expected to face the Democratic incumbent, Bruce Bennett. In the Democratic primary election, Joe Purcell of Benton, the seat of Saline County, had the segregationist incumbent, Bruce Bennett of El Dorado. During the campaign, both Thomasson and Purcell ran as reformers.^{[citation needed]}

Despite running on the Republican ticket with the successful gubernatorial candidate, reformer Winthrop Rockefeller, Thomasson lost in the general election. Purcell received 287,983 votes (53.9 percent) to Thomasson's 246,133 (46.1 percent). Thomasson carried 12 of the state's 75 counties, having received more than 60 percent of the ballots in Searcy, Baxter, Sebastian, Benton, and Washington counties. He also won in Crawford County, which Rockefeller lost. His strength was concentrated in the northwestern portion of the state.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, Thomasson again challenged Purcell. He received 240,725 votes (41.4 percent) to Purcell's 341,233 (58.6 percent). Thomasson won nine counties, again all in northwestern Arkansas, three fewer than he had in 1966. In 1971, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon appointed Thomasson as an administrative law judge of the Social Security Administration, a position that he retained until his retirement in 2000.^{[citation needed]}

Despite his party switch, Thomasson was a friend and supporter of former President Bill Clinton and is mentioned in Clinton’s autobiography, My Life (on page 231, in which Clinton refers to Thomasson as "a fair-minded Republican").

External links

• Herald Obituary
• Ruggles Obituary
• Arkansas Court Library history
• Arkansas Outlook, August 1966
• Election Statistics, 1966, 1968 (Little Rock: Arkansas Secretary of State)
• Cash family genealogy.

Persondata
Name	Thomasson, Jerry Kreth
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	October 17, 1931
Place of birth	Arkadelphia, Arkansas, U.S.
Date of death	April 29, 2007 (aged 75)
Place of death