Darin Thomas addresses the Guilford County Republican Party Convention in Jamestown in April.We met in the dimly lit dining room of the Forest Oaks Country Club. The air conditioning kept the temperature near a deep freeze as the dazzling sunlight played across the golf course outside and beyond the room’s plate-glass windows.
Darin Thomas, an engineer who consults for local governments, is a white Republican. In NC House District 58, that makes him a minority in two aspects. The district is majority black, and registered Democrats outnumber their GOP counterparts three to one. Notwithstanding those statistics, Thomas makes the case that on issues from economic development to education, from the White Street Landfill to rural southeastern Guilford County, he has the ability to represent constituents better than his opponent.
Now serving her ninth term, Democrat Alma Adams has become a part of the Democratic establishment that controls both houses of the General Assembly. Her perch atop the House Appropriations Committee gives her clout and influence within her party and in state government as a whole.
During her last general election two years ago in which she faced Republican Olga Morgan Wright, Adams campaigned on her party registration, reminding voters, “There’s only one Democrat in the race.” This year, Thomas hopes voters will look past the R behind his name. He describes himself as “middle right” and a fiscal conservative.
“I would appeal to anybody who wants representation,” he said. “I have a job. I haven’t taken PAC money like Dr. Adams has. I am not going to take PAC money. I know how PACs operate. The reason they’re here is they want access, and from that access they want an outcome. I would challenge you to look at Dr. Adams’ campaign contributions. It’s a who’s who of PACs. At the end of the day, does taking money from PACs constitute leadership? Come on.”
In the second year since it became clear that the state and the rest of the country is in the midst of a deep recession, Thomas said he sees public anxiety over budgetary strains as his political opening.
“I sense that because of the economy and out-of-control spending — I know that sounds like a typical Republican candidate — people are disillusioned with the Democratic majority,” he said. “I’m not retired, and I’m not wealthy. I’m probably the most unlikely politician. I’m saying, ‘People you’ve got to start looking for better representation.'”
A fan of the conservative John Locke Foundation and John W. Pope Civitas Institute, Thomas nonetheless mentioned more areas in which he supports public investment than instances where he would cut spending. He said state funding needs to be prioritized on education, health and human services, public safety and infrastructure. The latter category includes site-specific endeavors that generate economic development such as the Gateway University Research Park and NC A&T University — both of which lie in the district he seeks to represent.
“I will give Dr. Adams full credit for what she’s tried to do to support Gateway University Research Center," Thomas said.
And as a champion of establishing a GTCC satellite campus in southeastern Guilford County he would go one better, while acknowledging that such an investment would represent a significant expenditure of state funds.
“You know that we’re opening a GTCC campus in northwestern Guilford County that is aviation focused,” he said. “One of the discussions taking place is the possibility of bringing a GTCC campus to southeastern Guilford County that would be more agriculture-focused, livestock-focused, equestrian-focused. That would be something that I would support. That would be a wonderful economic development asset for the area.”
As vice-president of the Southeast Guilford Community Association, Thomas said he has approached the community college’s president about the initiative.
“I had a meeting in this very room with Don Cameron about this idea,” he said.
One economic development idea championed by Thomas that has not been acted on is a waste-to-energy facility at the White Street Landfill.
“With the White Street Landfill, the technology exists to make it an energy generator,” he said. “You could mine that landfill and start to incinerate material there. You could build an energy recovery facility. One idea I had is leveraging A&T’s engineering school and the Gateway University Research Park to create a Renewable Energy Center of Excellence.”
As an engineer that has done extensive consulting work for local governments, Thomas argues that he holds expertise that can benefit the district.
“The White Street Landfill is right in my sweet spot,” he said. “There are two wastewater treatment plants — right in my sweet spot. Then you have an engineering school. I’m an accredited engineer.”
More so than economic development, Thomas represents an alternative to Adams on the issue of education.
“What are our critical success factors as a society, as an economy, as a participant in the global economy?” Thomas asked. “It’s education.”
Adams would likely share that viewpoint. The Guilford County Association of Educators endorsed her in her primary against Ralph Johnson, and its statewide counterpart has named her one of its “A+ legislators.” The NC Association of Educators remains opposed to lifting a statewide cap on charter schools — a position in which Thomas vehemently disagrees.
“The fact that we’re not allowing the cap on charter schools to be raised is ridiculous,” he said. “In my district, there are a lot of failing schools. Why couldn’t some become charter schools? Whether you’re black or white, whatever your background, moms and dads all want their children prepared for the future. Education is at the foundation of that.”
One of Thomas’ campaign themes is “protect the family.” It’s a nuanced position, and he does not consider himself a staunch social conservative.
“If you add up all the little changes that are made in laws that serve to erode the family unit, that’s why you hear conservatives being so vocal,” he said. “They want to protect the value system to shield their children and their families. I have a tendency to not want to dictate morality to other people. I believe at some point we’ve all got to answer for the lives we’ve lived.”
Thomas said he would have to take each bill that came before him on a case-by-case basis, but he would apply an “ABC” formula as a general set of guidelines — that is, he would try to vote in a way that was fiscally Accountable, Biblically grounded and based on the Constitution.
His positions on at least two bills signed into law last year belie the strict family values agenda adopted by many conservative Republicans.
“The conservatives are opposed to the high school bullying bill because there’s a provision that recognizes gays and lesbians,” Thomas said. “That’s where I’m less socially conservative. You shouldn’t be discriminated against. If you live an alternative lifestyle or wear shoes that are a different color, you shouldn’t be picked on.”
Likewise, Thomas said he would have voted for the Healthy Youth act sponsored by Rep. Adams, which requires public schools to teach sex education, with an opt-out provision for parents who want their children to receive abstinence-only instruction.
“These children have to be taught how they can be protect themselves,” Thomas said. “As a family man, I teach my kids abstinence. Will I opt out? That will be something my wife and I will discuss.”
Party registration and political shorthand gives little prediction on Thomas’ viewpoint on other legislative matters.
He opposes granting reduced, in-state tuition to out-of-state student athletes at the state’s universities.
He believes environmental regulations to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in Jordan Lake will prove ineffective and impose an unfair financial burden on Haw River watershed communities such as Greensboro.
He supports allowing healthcare consumers to shop across state lines for insurance, as a way of introducing competition and reducing prices.
Although he is a first-time candidate, Thomas holds experience in politics as a campaign manager for Bill Wright, now the chairman of the Guilford County Republican Party, in 2004 and 2006. Both times, his candidate was defeated, but in 2004 Wright came within 120 votes of defeating Billy Yow in the Republican primary for the Guilford County Commission District 5 seat. Wright fared less well in a 2006 general election match-up against Democrat Earl Jones for the NC House District 60 seat.
The 2006 contest is probably more predictive for the outcome Thomas’ contest with Adams than the 2004 intra-party fight. In fact, Yow may be Thomas’ ultimate target. Thomas said today that if he won election to the House, he would serve no more than three terms. After that, he said he might run for county commission against Yow. An unsuccessful House campaign this year would at least generate name recognition for Thomas in a 2012 primary contest with Yow.
“I have limited time,” Thomas said. “My family and my job are really my priorities. I don’t have a machine built around me. I’m my own manager. I’m my own treasurer. I’ll do what I can.”
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