Richard C. Thomas (May 3, 1937—November 2, 1991) was a politician and government official who served four terms as Secretary of State of Vermont.
Richard Clark Thomas was born in Washburn, Maine on May 3, 1937.[1][2] He was raised in Rutland, Vermont, and was a graduate of Rutland High School.[2] Thomas graduated from Middlebury College in 1959.[1][3] He completed the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, and served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve; he was a member of the Field Artillery branch, and attained the rank of captain.[2][4]
Thomas attended Georgetown University Law Center for a year, and was a reporter and writer for the F. W. Dodge Corporation from 1960 to 1963.[1][3] From 1963 to 1965 he worked on the staff of Senator Winston L. Prouty as a research assistant, campaign coordinator, and press secretary.[1][3] Thomas was executive director of the Vermont Republican Party from 1965 to 1968.[1] In 1968 he was appointed first assistant clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives.[1]
In 1968, Thomas was the successful Republican nominee for Secretary of State of Vermont.[1] He was reelected three times, and served from January 1969 to January 1977.[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate for a fifth term in 1976, and was defeated by Democrat James A. Guest.[5]
After leaving office, Thomas was a resident of Woodbridge, Virginia and was employed as the state liaison for the Federal Election Commission.[6] At the FEC, he was responsible for coordinating the agency's work with state and local election officials.[6] In addition, he oversaw compilation of the FEC's annual Combined Federal and State Disclosure Directory, as well as reports on the results of federal elections.[6]
Thomas died of throat cancer in Falls Church, Virginia on November 2, 1991.[3][4]
Thomas was married to Patricia L. McGlynn.[3] They were the parents of a son, Richard, and two daughters, Lisa and Leslie.[3]