Mable Able Thomas (born November 8, 1957) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

for District 56. She previously represented District 55, which includes areas immediately west and southwest of

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county ...

and areas west and northwest of

Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown, is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business ...

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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the youngest of five children. Her father was a

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

operator. Thomas graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1975. She then earned a scholarship to

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

to play for the Georgia State Panthers women's basketball team, and earned a Bachelor of Science in public administration in 1982.

Career

Thomas' political career started when she was chosen as a presidential delegate for candidate Jesse Jackson at the

1984 Democratic National Convention The 1984 Democratic National Convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select candidates for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was nom ...

. In the same year, she won a seat in the

, defeating incumbent Grace Towns Hamilton in the Democratic primary, thus becoming the youngest member of the Georgia General Assembly. She served four terms. In 1997, she launched a successful campaign for a seat on the

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

. In 2003, she returned to the Georgia House for six years. In 1992 and 2008, Thomas challenged

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

to represent . 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 Rashad Jamal Taylor (born March 21, 1981) is a political consultant and former politician from Atlanta, Georgia. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served from 2009 to 2013 in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the ...

in the primary. On October 27, 2019, Thomas announced her candidacy for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

at the SisterSong Let's Talk about Sex Reproductive Justice conference. In March 2020, Thomas announced that she would not seek re-election in November. After the death of incumbent Congressman

, Thomas was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Lewis on the November general election ballot. State Senator and State Democratic Party Chair

Nikema Williams Nikema Natassha Williams (born July 30, 1978) is an American politician and political executive serving as the representative for . The district includes almost three-fourths of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th d ...

was eventually selected to succeed Lewis on the November ballot. Thomas was a candidate for the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to serve Lewis's full term in Congress, but did not advance to the December 2020 runoff election.

Personal life

Thomas is often referred to by the nickname "Able" or "Able Mable", which was coined by a colleague around 1984. She later made it her legal middle name. Thomas is a member of the Cosmopolitan

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

in Atlanta.

References

External links

"Able" Mable Thomas 2010 campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mable Living people Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) African-American women in politics Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1957 births 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women