Harry Thomas Resigns

Dear DC Republican,

It's a good day for the District of Columbia. A corrupt elected official was forced to resign due to many factors including the DC Republican Committee.

As you may recall, in 2010, after the Democratic Primary, former Ward 5 Republican DC Council candidate, Tim Day & the DCGOP were the first to report irregularities from Team Thomas. Team Thomas was the alleged "non-profit" operated by former Ward 5 DC Councilmember Harry Thomas. Mr. Thomas used his DC Council office and staff to solicit public and private funds, yet failed to report the income. Subsequently, the DC Attorney General began his own investigation. The Attorney General brought civil charges against Mr. Thomas and Mr. Thomas agreed to repay back the city $300,000 yet refused to admit guilt. Ward 1 School Board member, Patrick Mara, was the first elected official to call on Mr. Thomas to resign. Until this week, Mr. Thomas defended himself, accusing the media, the Washington Post editorial page and the DCGOP for hyping up false charges against him.
 

Some of our elected leaders and their lack of ethics is unfortunate and appalling. Some of our elected leaders believe their actions have no repercussions. Tim Day, the DCGOP, many in the media, the DC Attorney General and US Attorney deserve a lot of credit. Without these people and organizations, it's very possible Mr. Thomas would still be playing golf and driving his expensive SUV and motorcycle using taxpayer funds.

Below is a picture graph provided by the US Attorney's Office outlining how Mr. Thomas spent some of the misappropriated funds for his personal use.

Below are quotes from Federal authorities from last Friday's press conference outlining the ongoing investigation. The investigation is expanding to staff, associates and even the DC Young Democrats. Here are some quotes:

"Almost immediately after taking office, (Mr. Thomas) made a decision that he was going to steal money intended for our youth."

"Thomas stole money designated for substance abuse programs for at-youth risk -- directly comes from taxpayers when they mark box on return."

"Almost immediately after Thomas started stealing, Thomas viewed the city as his personal piggy bank."

The ongoing Federal investigation by the US Attorney's office also included new revelations about Mr. Thomas. Mr. Thomas used the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp, a quasi-independent entity from DC Government, to direct city grant money to a nonprofit that funneled most of it back to entities controlled by him. Even before taking office in January 2007, Mr. Thomas was working to get government funds for an organization that would kick back money to him. He appropriated tax dollars designated for drug prevention for children at risk to pay for a presidential inaugural ball organized by the DC Young Democrats.

As DC Republicans you can do something about this. You can support the DCGOP and our candidates. You can get involved with our efforts in the city. You can register as a Republican voter and take a stand against the Democratic leadership of our city.

Click here to donate to the DCGOP.

Click here to register as a DC Republican voter.

If you want to get involved in the grassroots level and help our candidates, please contact Paul Craney at (202) 407-7069 or email him at paul@dcgop.com. We want to hear from you.