Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. is back in city political circles, eight years after he went to prison for stealing taxpayer dollars meant for children.
The younger Thomas resigned from the council in 2012, after being charged with embezzlement and tax fraud.
Several local leaders embraced his return to city politics this week, saying he deserves a second chance, while others said his crimes disqualify him. Thomas said he is trying to give back to the community he betrayed.
“I just think if we live in a world that doesn’t redeem people, what kind of world do we live in?” he asked in an interview. “Once people pay their debt to society, they should be given a fair opportunity to come back, and that’s really why I’m staying involved.”
All eight political wards in the District have a Democratic committeeman and committeewoman, elected by voters in the Democratic primary.
Romaine Thomas, the former council member’s mother and a longtime school principal, is Ward 5’s committeewoman. Harry Thomas Jr. ran uncontested for the other position after the person elected in 2018 stepped down.
Ursula Higgins, a neighborhood commissioner in Ward 5, called Thomas’s return “fantastic.”
“Yes, he has had things he has done in the past, and he has paid the price for his actions,” Higgins said. “But I also think he has the heart and desire for the city to go in a positive direction.”
Other former constituents said Thomas can find redemption — but not through politics.
“There’s no way he can redeem the way he mismanaged the public trust,” said Kathy Henderson, a former neighborhood commissioner and council candidate. “He came to office for the purpose of concocting a scheme to steal from children.”
Thomas pleaded guilty after prosecutors accused him of stealing taxpayer money intended for nonprofits serving children to instead pay for a luxury SUV, expensive trips and exotic shoes.
Thomas’s incarceration ended in 2015. On Friday, Thomas described his criminal conviction as a “bump in the road” and “one chapter that does not define my life.”
His mother said her son has a right to serve his city and redeem the family name.
“We are a bedrock for this community,” said Romaine Thomas, 90.
Thomas was among several new faces in D.C. politics brought down by political scandal earlier this decade.
Former council chair Kwame Brown, who resigned after a bank fraud conviction, now hosts a political talk show on Facebook. Former at-large council member Michael Brown, who went to prison for taking bribes, has said he is considering running for office again this year.
The most recent politician to do wrong and attempt a comeback is former Ward 2 council member Jack Evans, who filed to run for his old seat days after relinquishing it, when he was facing expulsion by his peers over ethics violations. He was the subject of a federal investigation but has not been charged with a crime.
Evans (D) faced a hostile reception at his first appearance at a candidate forum Thursday.
Harry Thomas, in contrast, eased his way back into politics. He worked on Dionne Reeder’s unsuccessful 2018 council campaign and has done consulting work for local businesses. He told The Washington Post he has also been advocating for criminal justice reform and against prison labor.
Thomas did not rule out running for his old seat if it becomes vacant.