Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond in Americus on Friday

Georgia Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond was a guest of the Americus Kiwanis Club Friday, and he brought hope and inspiration for the future.

Thurmond, who has held his post for 20 years, was introduced by program chair Lewis Webb.

Thurmond said the 9.7 percent (Georgia) unemployment rate is the highest “ever” and the 11.3 percent unemployment rate in Sumter County is “one of the highest.” He said more than 460,000 Georgians are jobless and some 7 million Americans have lost jobs since the recession started.

But ... using humor and stories of his own modest beginning, Thurmond shared some good news with the Kiwanis Club. He said America has faced much more difficult problems than it is facing now. “And because of this,” he said, “ I have no doubt that America will emerge from this economic downturn better and stronger.”

The key to recovery, Thurmond said, is to “rally ourselves and define ourselves by what we share in common.” He said people tend to associate with people like themselves, whether it be race, political affiliation, religion, age or income level.

He reminded the club that American forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan identify themselves as “Americans,” even though they are men and women, black and white. “If our brave men and women can fight as one, why can’t those of us here at home stand together as one?” Thurmond asked.

The commissioner said the recession is forcing Americans to remember what made America great: family and caring about neighbors. He cautioned that this country can come out of the recession as a stronger, more productive nation, but only “if we continue to invest in the education and training of our children.”

Thurmond used his own life as an example: the son of a sharecropper who in only one generation went from the farm to student to lawyer to legislator and then to a Constitutional officer in state government.

Thurmond also encourages people to expand their “comfort zone,” and again using himself as an example, said he ran for and lost election to a seat on the state Legislature twice before he realized he was only asking blacks for their vote in a 66 percent white district (Athens). On his third attempt, he campaigned in white neighborhoods, too, and won the seat.

“My new vision for Georgia is that in my lifetime we will live in a state called Georgia, not separated by North Georgia and South Georgia, not separated by black and white, rich and poor, that we will be smart enough not to separate ourselves between Democrats and Republicans ... We can and will build one great Georgia.”

The best politician in the state right now. He has a mix of charisma, inspiration & substance that will make him a force in the state in the future. A possible Lt. Governor candidiate I would be surprised if h left the Dept. of Labor to run for Lt. Gov. My bet is that he stays at Labor. If he does decide to move up it will be the U.S. Senate in my opinion

Here's something to think about.

What if Michael Thurmond runs for governor instead? If Roy decline the race, Thurmond may just go for the govermor's race. He has expressed interest in the race. It may have changed by the entry of Thurbert Baker into the race. Thurmond would be the frontrunner for governor if you are going on just by Name I.D. Thurmond has a mix of great communication skills, charisma, knowledge of the issues.

He has a record as a Tax Cutter, moving people from welfare to work, putting folks back to work & his work as Labor Commissioner has been recognized Nationally.

If this becomes the case, a Michael Thurmond-DuBose Porter slate could be a possibility. Both men are about the same age, Thurmond, 56, Porter 55. Both are politically saavy men who knows what it would take to defeat the radical republicans in 2010. Thurmond with his appeal to the urban, & surburban communities & North Georgia.

Porter with his appeal to rural, small town voters would make a awsome combination. Hey, a DuBose Porter-Michael Thurmond is possible as well.

But Roy holds all the cards right now & until he makes a decision, nothing is definite. Things will be become clearer after he makes his decision.

Old article by Michael Thurmond that is worth the read. From the Democratic Leadership Council Blueprint Magazine.

By Michael Thurmond:

For Georgia Democrats, the 1998 election was a watershed. First, Democrats retained control of the governor's office, the legislature, and most statewide offices despite leadpipe-cinch predictions of a Republican landslide and realignment. Second, two African-Americans won statewide office, showing that message trumps race and that biracial coalitions trump polarized voting when the message is right.

Thurbert Baker, a former state legislator who had recently been appointed attorney general by Gov. Zell Miller, became the first African-American in any Deep South state to win a full term as a state's chief legal officer. And I was elected commissioner of labor. We were two of only nine blacks to win statewide executive branch office anywhere in America in 1998.

The race for labor commissioner is particularly instructive. My victory marked the first time that an African-American was elected statewide in Georgia without having been first appointed to the position. I had to fight my way through the Democratic primary and runoff against better financed white candidates. In the general election, my Republican opponent retained a consulting firm headed by Ralph Reed, the former Christian Coalition president who is now chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Reed ran a campaign with the race-baiting slogan: "The difference is as clear as black and white."

How were we able to do it? Mainly because we shared a centrist message with the two leading white candidates for statewide office -- Roy Barnes (running for governor) and Mark Taylor (running for lieutenant governor). We ran on themes of personal responsibility, fiscal discipline, equal opportunity, education and training, and improvement of Georgia's quality of life (especially in Atlanta's gridlocked suburbs). We also ran on our records: I was able to talk about my success as a former state welfare director in initiating work-based welfare reform in Georgia. I promised that as labor commissioner, I would push for reductions in employer taxes, better unemployment insurance benefits, and a major upgrade of our training and retraining programs for the New Economy.

It is significant that in a Deep South state, where three out of every four voters are white, Republican attempts to polarize voters along racial lines failed or backfired. All four of us won solidly against the odds. Thanks to our common message, we each won roughly equal parts of the black and the white vote in every county in the state.

Voters did not simply reject racially divisive appeals; they responded positively to our centrist message. For starters, we energized the traditional Democratic core constituencies. The African-American vote jumped from 19 percent of the total in 1994 to 29 percent in 1998 -- a higher percentage than the African-American proportion of registered voters, and by far the largest increase in the country. The New Democrat ticket of Barnes, Taylor, Baker, and Thurmond won 90 percent of that dramatically increased black vote. But by campaigning as centrists, we also did well in the Republican-leaning suburbs (which themselves include a rapidly growing African-American middle class) and even in parts of conservative rural Georgia.

The existence of an informal "control group" in our election convinces me that our biracial voting coalition was driven by our centrist message. The "control" consisted of two statewide Democratic candidates -- one black, one white -- who ran on a more traditionally liberal message; they both lost.

More proof that message and record trumped race were the election results in the eight counties of the North Georgia mountains -- heavily white, and often Republican. I carried all of them, while our white "control" candidate -- running to our left -- lost all eight. Moreover, in 2000, Al Gore lost all eight as well -- four of them by better than a 2-1 margin.

What this means is that we were able to create that rarest of political phenomena: a two-way biracial coalition. Not only were black voters crossing over to support white candidates (as they have always done), but, for the first time at the statewide level, white voters were supporting black candidates -- in a very close election to boot. What appealed to people was a diverse, accomplished ticket united around a New Democrat message of opportunity, responsibility, and community.

Despite the presidential loss in 2000 -- Gore lost the state by 12 percent -- Georgia Democrats look strong for the 2002 elections. Those of us who were successful in 1998 are hard at work making good on our promise to extend the state's progress in directions that a majority of Georgians want to go.

The lesson Georgia offers the national Democratic Party is that you don't have to choose between the "base" and "swing voters" in the South or elsewhere -- a diverse New Democrat ticket appeals to both. And the lesson for Democrats in the South is even clearer: Aggressively recruit young, centrist African-Americans to run for office who will not only help energize and represent "the base" -- especially the growing ranks of African-American middle-class moderates -- but whose message has genuine appeal across racial lines. As we showed in Georgia, we can not only win elections; we can finally begin to banish the curse of racially divisive politics.

Now in his third term as the head of the state Labor Department, Athens native Michael Thurmond's job is to help Georgians find work. Thurmond, well-respected and a rising star in the Democratic Party, is focusing on some innovative ways to help people land gainful employment, even if they're not skilled at searching for a job.

Michael Thurmond was born in rural Clarke County, the youngest of the nine children of the late Sidney and Vanilla Thurmond. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Paine College in 1975 and later earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. In 1991, he completed the political executives program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In 1978, Michael Thurmond returned to Athens to practice law and took an active role in that city's civic and political affairs. In 1986, he became the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since reconstruction. During his legislative tenure, he was the only African-American legislator elected from a majority white district.

While serving in the General Assembly, Representative Thurmond authored major legislation that has provided over 100 million dollars in tax refunds to senior citizens and low-income working families.

In 1994, then Governor Zell Miller selected him to direct Georgia's historic transition from welfare to work. He created the innovative "Workfirst" program, which has helped over 90,000 welfare-dependent Georgia families move into the workforce, saving Georgia taxpayers over 200 million dollars. These savings have been reinvested in childcare, training and other support services.

In 1997, he became the distinguished practitioner/lecturer at the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government. On November 3, 1998, Michael Thurmond was elected Georgia Labor Commissioner. Thurmond presently chairs the Martin Luther King, Jr. Georgia State Holiday Commission.

He is awaiting the publication of his second book entitled "Freedom: An African-American History of Georgia," and also serves on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society.

Commissioner Thurmond is a member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church West of Athens. He and his wife Zola are the proud parents of a daughter, Mikaya.

During his term as Labor Commissioner, Michael Thurmond has:

Led the effort to cut employer taxes by $1.4 billion while increasing weekly unemployment benefits from $240 to $320.

Transformed the state's old "unemployment offices" into modern, state-of-the-art career centers and increased productivity by deploying cutting edge information technology.

Established the Georgia Department of Labor as a national leader in putting the unemployed back to work and in preventing and detecting waste, fraud and abuse.

Early Years
Michael Thurmond was born in rural Clarke County, the youngest of nine children of the late Sidney and Vanilla Thurmond. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Paine College in 1975 and later earned a Juris Doctorate degree form the University of South Carolina School of Law.
In 1978, Thurmond returned to Athens to practice law and took an active role in that city's civic and political affairs. In 1986, he became the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since Reconstruction. During his legislative tenure, he was the only African-American legislator elected from a majority white district.

Policy Maker
While serving in the General Assembly, Representative Thurmond authored major legislation that has provided over $200 million in tax refunds to Georgia's senior citizens and low-income working families.
In 1994, Governor Zell Miller called on Thurmond to direct Georgia's transition from welfare to work. He created the innovative "Workfirst" program, which has helped over 90,000 welfare-dependent families move into the workforce, saving Georgia taxpayers over $200 million. Thurmond was elected Labor Commissioner in November of 1998.

Scholar/Author
In 1997, Thurmond became the Distinguished Practitioner/Lecturer at the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government. In 2005, He published his acclaimed second book entitled "Freedom: An African-American History of Georgia."

Personal
Commissioner Thurmond is a member of the Ebenezer West Baptist Church of Athens. He and his wife Zola are the proud parents of a daughter Mikaya.

Thurmond future has a very bright future in the party. He has been mentioned as a candidate for Lt. Governor & that may still be the case. He also is mentioned for other races such as Secretary of State, U.S. Senate, or remain at Labor Commissioner. But if Roy Barnes does not run for governor, it wold not shock me if he ran for governor even though Thurbert Baker has already announced his intentions.