Candidate Questionnaire
What is your name: Chris Thomas
What office are you seeking? City Commissioner
What is your age: 36
Please provide family background. (I.E. spouse, children, grandchildren, pets)
Morgan Thomas – Wife, 35 y/o
Gage Thomas – Son – 17 y/o
Jude Thomas – Son – 9 y/o
Dogs: 3 – Willow, Cooper, Birdie
What is your educational background? (i.e. high school, GED, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral degree, etc.)
B.S in Accounting from Brescia University
M.B.A w/ Accounting Focus from USI
Have you been elected to a political office previously? If so, what office(s) and when did you hold the office(s)?
No previous political office held
What is your professional background? (Please include career and any boards and volunteer work.)
Currently a producer/agent for Davis Insurance Group, Inc. I specialize in risk mitigation analysis for Commercial Insurance, but also deal with personal lines. (i.e home, auto, renters, etc)
I currently sit on the board for Henderson Christian Community Outreach, as well as Matthew 25 (Which I am the current treasurer), and a current participant in the City of Henderson Inner City Improvement Plan
I spent seven years working with Pittsburg Tank and Tower as a project manager for Allstate Tower, where I dealt with projects across the United States, and all of the licensing/ permitting involved in commercial projects in all of those jurisdictions.
In addition to my educational background, I have been lucky enough to participate in several leadership and professional development programs / seminars, perhaps my favorite of all being Henderson Leadership Initiative.
Why are you running for office?
I believe that through my professional career, combined with my educational background, I am in a unique position to represent our community. I have the knowledge to understand what true fiscal responsibility looks like, combined with real world experience of what works and what does not. Combined with those accolades, I possess a deep passion for this community and its future, with the work ethic to see the vision through. I am in a unique spot in my career, where my kids are old enough, my work schedule is flexible, and I have the availability that is needed to dedicate my time towards this endeavor. I would be honored to be a small part of making this community a better place for my kids to experience, and my future grandchildren to benefit from. I am a Henderson native, and I plan to always call Henderson HOME.
If elected to office, what would be your top three goals?
1. Long term fiscal responsibility and ensuring all assets are being utilized in the most efficient way possible. I think we have seen a large development in the past decade of resources and services catered towards serving the underserved in our community. What I see as low hanging fruit is working towards optimizing/ harmonizing a lot of those existing services, so that they can operate in the most efficient way possible. Elevating impact, without incurring additional cost.
2. Immediate audit / overhaul of our existing codes and building ordinances, and how they compare to surrounding counties. This seems to be the most difficult obstacle when it comes to bringing new business to Henderson, and I would like to see if there is anything that can be done to alleviate those concerns for potential entrepreneurs/ existing business owners looking to relocate to Henderson.
3. Solving one of our biggest challenges for the next 10-20 years, which is how can we produce more job ready candidates. So that we can be the go to option for businesses looking to relocate to a tight knit, community like culture, that can also provide an adequate pool of competent and reliable employees. Four year college degrees are no longer the standard answer to that problem, I would like to enhance and support our efforts in developing our youth into physical skills / trades, that will always be in high demand, with a more than adequate pay scale that would accompany that position.
Why should people vote for you?
If you are looking for a candidate that is competent on paper, trustworthy in person, and passionate about elevating their hometown for future generations, I believe I check all of those boxes.
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