Michael Thomas (Oklahoma)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Michael Thomas

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Personal

Profession

Rancher

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Michael Thomas (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Cleveland County Commission to represent District 2 in Oklahoma. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Thomas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Michael Thomas' career experience includes working as a rancher and the president of T.J. Campbell Construction Company.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Cleveland County, Oklahoma (2020)

General election

General election for Cleveland County Commission District 2

Incumbent Darry Stacy defeated Michael Thomas in the general election for Cleveland County Commission District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Darry Stacy (R)	63.2	26,469
		Michael Thomas (D)	36.8	15,428

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,897
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Michael Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Cleveland County Commission District 2.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Darry Stacy advanced from the Republican primary for Cleveland County Commission District 2.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Thomas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thomas' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Michael Thomas, and I like to build things. Also, I'm running for Cleveland County Commissioner, District 2. I worked 30 years in heavy highway construction, working my way up from asphalt plant laborer, through plant manager, truck dispatcher, and asphalt sales. I ran asphalt roto-milling and concrete crushing / recycling spreads, bid and ran highway projects, and was chosen as president of T.J. Campbell Construction - a $30 million per year, 150 employee corporation. I retired in 2014, to establish my cattle ranch. After clearing brush, planting grass, building miles of fence, and raising cattle, I built my shop and home on the ranch. This winter, I even bought a kit on the internet, and built an inground pool behind my home. My point of all this is: I have a lot of experience building jobs, running crews, and organizing projects. I am pretty well caught up here on the farm, and I would like to return to building projects that benefit my community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Michael Thomas brings 30 years of business and road construction experience to work for Cleveland County.
• An independent thinker, Michael Thomas can buck political parties or government institutions to get the best results for the people of Cleveland County.
• Michael Thomas will work to help the needy in Cleveland County.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

One thing currently deficient in funding is assistance for the needy. I would propose building strong partnerships and support for organizations that help those in need during these uncertain times. Organizations like Food and Shelter of Norman, Bridges of Norman, and the Regional Food Bank are some excellent charities that I would work to support as the pandemic and economy continue to worsen.
We need to be ready to help the mothers, bartenders, laborers, cooks, and those who are out of work and down on their luck. As Commissioner, I would pledge to do all I could to assist our citizens who are impacted the most during this crisis.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

County Commissioner is unique in local government because it is more of an administrative office than legislative. The commissioners make no laws, but the do oversee the broad budgets of county government departments, and the specific running of their district.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Theodore Roosevelt is a great example of leadership. He worked to grow America's world influence, and started the National Park Service here at home. He spoke his mind, and was not afraid to change the status quo. That is the sort of leadership we need now.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The Commissioner must perform all of his duties with transparency, accountability, and honesty. Because of the large amounts of public money involved, the Commissioner must always take a fiduciary role, where the good of the Cleveland County takes precedence over any personal or party agenda. Meetings and books need to be open, where anyone can follow where the money goes and how decisions were made. In my years in business, I have seen where disreputable practices and greed have ruined organizations and people. My life experiences have taught me that honesty and integrity are the only way to do business. As County Commissioner, I will always perform all my responsibilities with honesty and integrity, and I will always act for the good of the people.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My time in the construction business taught me that honesty and fairness are essential to running a good business. You have to do what you say you'll do, and you have to be fair with people. I think in government, those traits would serve a person well.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

District 2 has had a Commissioner with a police background. Where every year there is an expected 3% budget increase, and you have to spend all your department budget or loose it next year. My background is in construction, where you are trained to find ways to bring your projects in under budget and on time. I would bring my business acumen to bear and find cost savings in our processes and administration, so we had more money to spend on road improvements and helping the people. More money for services and roads. Less money for administration.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I successfully ran a $30m per year, 150 employee heavy highway construction company. My 30 years of experience within that company ran the gamut from shovel hand, up through equipment operator, job estimation, sales, collections, legal, accounting, running crews, serving on our board of directors, and eventually serving as president of the organization. My latter years in particular gave me a lot of experience in not only budgeting and job costing, but also leadership. The highest form of leadership involves motivating foremen and lead people so they can in turn motivate the workers to do their best work. I have the management experience to get the that best work for Cleveland County.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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