Political Career
In 1996, one hundred and four years after his great grand uncle, William Webb Ferguson, was the first African-American elected to the Michigan Legislature, Thomas was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented the 10th district, located in northwest Detroit. He served in the House for six years. In 2002, he was elected by his House colleagues as the House Democratic Leader, one of the youngest members ever elected to that position and only the second African American elected as a House leader.
In 2002 he was elected to the Michigan Senate and re-elected in 2006. In 2007, his colleagues once again elected him to a leadership position, as the Senate Democratic Floor Leader. He is one of the few Michigan legislators to have held leadership positions in both the Michigan House and Senate.
Read more about this topic: Buzz Thomas
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or career:
“Motherhood is the second oldest profession in the world. It never questions age, height, religious preference, health, political affiliation, citizenship, morality, ethnic background, marital status, economic level, convenience, or previous experience.”
—Erma Bombeck (20th century)
“What exacerbates the strain in the working class is the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor daycare, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner’s job. What exacerbates it in upper-middle class is the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. But the tug between traditional and egalitarian models of marriage runs from top to bottom of the class ladder.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)