Rep. Thomas says he's running again

Friday, February 15, 2008

BRAZIL -- After only one term in office, Amos Thomas doesn't feel like he's accomplished everything he set out to do.

With that in mind, the Parke County native and Brazil resident officially threw his hat into the ring Thursday, as he filed for candidacy as state representative for District 44.

During a phone interview, Thomas, a Republican, told The Brazil Times he only waited to file for re-election because he was still recovering from ongoing health issues. The deadline to file for the upcoming election is Feb. 22.

"The main reason was because I was in the hospital and not really thinking about much except for my recovery," Thomas said. "I was thinking about this all the time, but to tell you the truth, I had an awful hard time concentrating on anything. I just had too much to do and too short of time."

Thomas replaced his son, Andy, who stepped away from the position in 2006.

The Rockville High School graduate served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and also served in the Indiana Air National Guard.

He has practiced law in Brazil for several years with his brother, John, who served in the District 44 position for 24 years.

Thomas said he has gained a lot of experience in his two years of office and is looking forward to running again.

"I like the job," Thomas said. "I think I'm doing my district service with my experience, and not only my experience in life in dealing with many, many people, but as an attorney for 51 years and all the clients I've dealt with.

"I really think with my experience, I'm much better than most people to size up legislation. Now, younger people may say, 'It's time for change.' I'd say, 'That may be but you've got to have experience up there.' I think I'm in a unique position to do that."

Recently, Thomas returned to the Statehouse after being away for five weeks. In December, Thomas had a laminectomy, a surgical procedure for treating spinal stenosis, by relieving pressure on the spinal cord.

However, shortly after the procedure, Thomas began to experience migraine-like headaches and a second procedure did not work as well as planned.

Still, he said he's been in contact with several people in the district who have been pleased with what he has done since being in office, giving him more reason to run again.

"I have so many people throughout the district telling me personally they're happy with my work and telling me they want me to run again,"

Thomas said Thursday. "I'm a unique person in that I've had contact with people down the years in my district."

Thomas admitted Thursday he didn't think he'd feel as much passion about the position before being elected.

"I don't think I've had any other though in my mind other than to run again," Thomas said. "When I had the chance to run before, I thought, 'We'll OK, I've never had this opportunity.' Frankly, I didn't know I was going to like the job as well as I do."

Thomas has six children and 12 grandchildren. He is the fourth person to file for the position. Other candidates include Republican Duane Conover and Democrats Richard Thompson and Nancy Michael.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: