Persistence a hallmark of ‘Dr. Don’

Published 2:28 am Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Don Thomas got things done in the state Senate because of his character and his persistence, say those who have worked with him over the years.

“You could always count on what Don said being the way it was going to be. He didn’t change his mind based on which way the tide was turning,” said Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta.

Thomas, a Dalton physician, said Monday he would not seek re-election this year and would retire after 14 years in the state Senate when his term expires at the end of 2010. Thomas cited the needs of his family and his patients at Whitfield Medical Professional Associates as reasons for not running again.

During a press conference announcing his resignation, Thomas cited a 2005 law banning smoking in most buildings open to the public, which he authored, as his greatest achievement in the Senate.

Dickson pointed out that it took years for Thomas to get the bill passed but he never gave up. Dickson said Thomas worked on fellow lawmakers, explaining why he thought the ban was a good idea until he won over enough votes in both the Senate at the state House of Representatives.

“One thing that served him well down in the Capitol was his integrity. He was well thought of and always seemed to have the ear of some important people,” said  Mike Babb, Whitfield County Board of Commissioners chairman. “The first time I met Sonny Perdue was before he was governor. I had no idea who he was, but Sen. Thomas brought him up here to Dalton, and Sen. Thomas told me ‘You need to get to know him because he’s going to be our next governor.’”

Brian Anderson, president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, agrees that Thomas’ character and easy demeanor opened many doors to him and to the people he represented.

“If I’d called the (Georgia Department of Transportation), I might have gotten the district engineer,” Anderson said of his four years as chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners. “But we would regularly and routinely have very high level meetings (with GDOT) because they were very involved with our delegation, especially Dr. Don.”

Anderson said one relationship in particular served the county well.

“We were always able to get into the governor’s office and the executive branch in general to get questions answered or get a hearing on issues that were affecting us, and that was because Dr. Don had a personal relationship with Gov. Sonny Perdue,” he said.

Former Dalton Mayor Ray Elrod has know Thomas since the early 1960s, and said he can’t begin to count the many things Thomas has done for the area.

“Don always been a pleasure to work with. He was always trying to do something for Whitfield County and the region he represented,” said Elrod.

Thomas began his political career in 1972 with election to the Whitfield County Board of Education, where he served as chairman of the board from 1974 to 1984. While serving as board chairman, Thomas led a lawsuit filed by several counties against the state government demanding more equal funding for local school systems. The school systems won in district court, but the decision was overturned by the state Supreme Court. But they ultimately achieved many of their goals when the Legislature wrote a new funding formula in the mid-1980s.

“That has brought millions of dollars into systems like Whitfield County over the years,” said Dickson, a former Whitfield County Schools superintendent.

Local leaders say Thomas’ absence will be felt in the General Assembly, where he currently serves on seven Senate committees: appropriations, education and youth (secretary), ethics, government oversight (ex-officio), health and human services (chairman), rules, and science and technology (ex-officio).

“Government, whether state or federal, is a tenure system,” Anderson said. “You get positions on committees and chairmanships because of your tenure in office. He has been there long enough and is well-regarded enough that he occupies some very influential positions. Whoever follows him necessarily starts off lower on the totem pole. We will miss some influence short term. But if the right person follows him and is willing to work hard and can build the sort of resume and reputation that Dr. Don did, we’ll be OK.”