Mable Thomas

American politician

Mable Thomas

Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 56th district
In office January 14, 2013 – January 11, 2021
Succeeded by	Mesha Mainor
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	(1957-11-08) November 8, 1957 (age 66) Atlanta, Georgia
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Georgia State University (BS)
Nickname(s)	Able Able Mable Mable Able

Mable 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]

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 she would not seek re-election.^[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 was 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

^ ^a ^b ^c Campbell, Colin (July 5, 2001). "Candidate feels 'able' to empower the people". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B3. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ Georgia Legislature District 55 map, 2009 Archived 2011-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
^ The World Who's who of Women. Melrose Press. 1990. ISBN 9780948875106.
^ "Funeral Notices". The Atlanta Constitution. February 6, 1978. p. 6-C. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Graham, Keith (September 26, 1983). "Mable". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 9-B. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - "Able" Mable Thomas". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
^ Mable Thomas' Biography
^ "From GSU student-athlete to House representative". The Signal. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
^ 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.
^ Dixon, Princella (September 28, 1984). "Georgia's Youngest State Legislator Honored". The Atlanta Voice. p. 8. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ Ippolito, Milo (August 29, 2002). "'Able' Mable returns". The Atlanta Constitution. p. JD1. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "Able" Mable Thomas campaign website
^ "Representative "Able" Mable Thomas". www.house.ga.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
^ "State Rep. Rashad Taylor Comes Out of the Closet", Atlanta Progressive News, May 27, 2011
^ @SisterSong_WOC (October 27, 2019). "Reproductive justice movement mother, Rep. Mable Thomas just announced at #LTAS2019 that she is RUNNING FOR SENATE.…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Two anti-LGBTQ lawmakers retiring from Georgia legislature". Project Q. March 6, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
^ "The process of replacing Rep. John Lewis in the US House". 11Alive.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
^ Bluestein, Greg. "Several prominent Democrats line up to succeed John Lewis in Congress". ajc. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
^ "Able Mable Thomas". www.bgca.org. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
^ Prabhu, Maya T. "Retiring Georgia legislators take decades of knowledge with them". ajc. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2020-07-19.