David L. Thomas

David L. Thomas
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 8th district
In office 1984 - present
Personal details
Born	September 10, 1949 (1949-09-10) (age 62) Seneca, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Fran
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Baptist

David Lloyd Thomas is a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 8th District since 1984. His district includes part of Greenville. He is also a partner at the firm Moore, Taylor & Thomas, P.A. (formerly Wilson, Moore, Taylor & Thomas, P.A.) Current South Carolina 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson was a partner with the firm prior to his election to Congress.

He is Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee. He is also Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Sub-committee on Constitutional/Administrative Officers. He ran for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 2002. He finished first in the Republican primary but lost the run-off to fellow state senator Andre Bauer.

Previously, he served as a Greenville City Councilman from 1979 to 1984, serving as Mayor Pro-Tempore from 1983 to 1984.

He served as Greenville Chairman of the 1980 Ronald Reagan for President Campaign as well as State Co-Chair (along with SC State Representative Terry Haskins) of the 1988 Jack Kemp for President Campaign. In 2008, he served as State Legislative Co-Chair of the Mike Huckabee for President.

He is also the founder of Palmetto Pride (Litter Task Force) which is an organization aimed at litter cleanup. He has degrees from UNC-Charlotte (Bachelors Degree), TCU, Southwestern Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity), and the University of South Carolina (Juris Doctor).

Thomas was one of the first Republican state senators to call for the resignation or impeachment of Governor Mark Sanford. In August, he wrote a letter to state legislative leaders saying that in his view, Sanford's use of expensive plane tickets on state business were an impeachable offense.^[1]

On June 6, 2009, Thomas announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, challenging incumbent Bob Inglis in the Republican primary for the 4th District.^[2] Thomas ran well to Inglis' right, and has criticized many of Inglis' recent votes. Inglis had been one of the most conservative members of the House when he represented the district from 1993 to 1999, but his voting record since his return to Congress in 2005 has been considerably more moderate. Thomas finished a distant fourth in the primary, winning only 12 percent of the vote.

Thomas did not have to give up his seat to run for Congress; South Carolina state senators serve four-year terms coinciding with presidential elections, and Thomas won't be up for reelection again until 2012.

In September of 2011 USA Today ran a story ^[3]on legislative pensions and how legislators abused their power to "pump up their pensions." Thomas was the poster child for this article. USA Today found that he had taken home over $148,000 more than other South Carolina legislators.

References

1. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/11/south.carolina.mark.sanford/index.html
2. ^ http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090606/NEWS01/90606014/1004
3. ^ Frank, Thomas. "How state lawmakers pump up pensions in ways you can't". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-10-11/1A-state-lawmakers-pump-pensions/50522036/1. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 

External links

• David Thomas for Congress official congressional campaign site
• South Carolina Legislature - Senator David L. Thomas official SC Senate website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator David L. Thomas (SC) profile
• Follow the Money - David Thomas
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 1996 campaign contributions

Persondata
Name	Thomas, David L.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 10, 1949
Place of birth	Seneca, South Carolina
Date of death
Place of death