Peter Schorsch
Republican Mary Thomas, running for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, would be happy to have supporters think her state government career began with the election of Gov. Rick Scott.
It doesn’t.
The North Florida attorney is working hard to promote her staunch conservative credentials as she seeks to unseat Democrat Gwen Graham. Campaign materials are quick to point out her service in Scott administration as General Counsel for the Department of Elder Affairs.
Yet, the same material provides little insight on her time after graduating the University of Miami in 2007.
One possible reason is that Thomas’ previous state government job seems to run counter to her desire to be “a new generation of conservative leadership in Washington.”
The period in question was in 2009, when she was Assistant General Counsel at the Florida Department of Community Affairs – appointed by none other than Gov. Charlie Crist.
That’s right. Thomas received her first government gig through the good graces of Florida’s infamous GOP “traitor” (at least in the eyes of many Republicans).
In fact, while at the DCA, Thomas was an aggressive advocate of Crist’s Global Climate Change Agenda, mostly through representing her boss in filing lawsuits against developers, with the stated goal of reducing greenhouse gases.
Her tenure at the DCA involved several legal battles against local governments, as well, in an attempt to force them to amend their comprehensive plans. Many briefs – signed by Thomas – argue that revised plans failed to “provide for energy-efficient land-use patterns that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” She also contended many of the modified plans called for “low-density residential development,” depending on auto use, increased vehicle miles and an effort to promote greenhouse gas emissions in the region.
Thomas, currently embroiled in a heated congressional contest, promises to be a “strong, conservative Republican.” Nonetheless, campaign rhetoric is one thing; running from your past – and hiding it from voters – is quite another.
4 comments
Bay County
December 11, 2015 at 12:15 pm
I can tell the author of this story is not an attorney. Thomas did not file those briefs because they were her’s, she filed the for the agency b/c that’s her job. That’s what staff attorneys do, they file and draft on behalf of the agency because an attorney must file and sign. They don’t make policy. It’s not like she contributed money to Charlie Crist and endorsed him over Marco Rubio, paging Neal Dunn…
Travis Coker
December 11, 2015 at 4:55 pm
Peter Schorch, you should do more research. This is filled with innaccuracies. Mary Thomas was hired as a staff attorney by the General Counsel’s Office at DCA. It was not an appointed position. I have worked at several agencies, and many staff attorneys are hired, often right out of law school, gain some experience and then go on to work at higher positions or move to the private sector to start paying off law school loans. To assert she was appointed by Charlie Crist is either really poor intel, lazy research… or just not being concerned with the verifying the truth. Which is it?
Travis Coker
December 11, 2015 at 5:00 pm
oh yeah, do you think Governor Scott would have hired someone who supported Charlie Crist’s “climate change” polcies?
Derrick
February 17, 2016 at 3:28 pm
Anyone who uses this article for a political mailer, TV ad or any other political purpose is doing so knowing, it’s false, not true and has no citations to back it up.
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