He was elected to represent Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia in 1986 and served three full terms until his defeat in the 1998 Democratic primary to Vincent Orange.
[2] Thomas grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and dropped out of high school before enlisting in the army during World War II.
After the war he moved to Washington, D.C., where he held a series of federal government jobs beginning with janitor and ending in the Department of the Interior's Office of Public Affairs.
[1] In 1986, after retiring from Interior, Thomas challenged incumbent William Spaulding for the Ward 5 council seat in the Democratic primary and won.
He received attention for sponsoring controversial ceremonial resolutions honoring Louis Farrakhan and Abdul Alim Muhammad, two leaders of the Nation of Islam.