Mike Thurmond

Mike Thurmond
Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County
In office
January 1, 2017 – January 1, 2025
Preceded byBurrell Ellis
Succeeded byLorraine Cochran- Johnson
Labor Commissioner of Georgia
In office
January 11, 1999 – January 10, 2011
GovernorRoy Barnes
Sonny Perdue
Preceded byMarti Fullerton
Succeeded byMark Butler
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 67th district
In office
January 12, 1987 – January 11, 1993
Preceded byHugh Logan
Succeeded byMike Polak
Personal details
Born (1953-01-05) January 5, 1953 (age 73)
Athens, Georgia, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseZola Fletcher
ChildrenMikaya
EducationPaine College (BA)
University of South Carolina (JD)

Michael L. Thurmond (born January 5, 1953) is an American author, attorney, and politician. A Democrat, he was previously the Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County and a representative in the Georgia General Assembly. He served as Georgia Labor Commissioner from 1999 to 2011.

Thurmond served as the interim superintendent of the DeKalb County School District[1], the third largest district in the state of Georgia from 2013 to 2015. The district serves nearly 99,000 students with over 13,400 employees. Thurmond was the Democratic Party's nominee for United States Senate in 2010. He was also one of the last Democrats to win statewide in Georgia until 2020, when Joe Biden won the state in the 2020 presidential election. In 2025, he announced that he will be running in the 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election.[2]

Prior to becoming DeKalb's Schools Superintendent, Thurmond was an attorney at Butler Wooten Cheeley & Peak LLP.[3]

Early life

Thurmond was raised as a sharecropper's son in Clarke County, Georgia. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy and religion from Paine College and later earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.[4] He also completed the Political Executives program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[4]

Political career

In 1986, he became the first African-American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since Reconstruction.[4]

By 1994, he was appointed by Governor Zell Miller as director of the state's Division of Family and Children Services (DFACS).[5]

In 1997, Thurmond became a distinguished lecturer at the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The following year in November, he was elected Georgia Labor Commissioner.[5]

In 2016, Thurmond decided to run for the open DeKalb County C.E.O.'s office being vacated by term-limited incumbent Democrat Burrell Ellis. He won overwhelmingly in the Democratic Primary, and went on to win by a significant margin over his Republican opponent in the November 2016 General Election. Thurmond began his four-year term on January 1, 2017.[4]

He is the recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees from Clark Atlanta University and LaGrange College.[6]

He serves on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society.[7]

U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: 2010 United States Senate election in Georgia

In April 2010, Thurmond announced his intention to run for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson.[8] He easily defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary, county employee RJ Hadley, on July 20.[9] He lost the general election to Isakson, receiving 39% of the vote, and was succeeded as Commissioner of Labor by former state representative Mark Butler, a member of the Republican Party.

Gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election

In August 2025, Thurmond announced a campaign for Governor of Georgia in the 2026 election.[2]

Publications

Thurmond's book, Freedom: Georgia's Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865,[10] was awarded the Georgia Historical Society's Lilla Hawes Award.[11] The Georgia Center for the Book listed Freedom on its 2005 list of The 25 Books All Georgians Should Read.[12]

Personal life

He is married to Zola Fletcher Thurmond, and they have one daughter, Mikaya Thurmond.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Beauregard, Daniel (February 15, 2013). "Thurmond begins tenure as interim superintendent". The Champion. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Amy, Jeff (August 6, 2025). "Democrat Michael Thurmond launches 2026 run for Georgia governor". Associated Press.
  3. ^ Cameron, Kristen (March 23, 2015). "Michael Thurmond to deliver Mary Frances Early Lecture April 1". UGA Today. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hon. Michael L. Thurmond Chief Executive Officer, DeKalb County, Ga". National Association of Counties. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Michael Thurmond, 21 July 2008". Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  6. ^ "Interim DeKalb schools chief to speak at EGSC". Statesboro Herald. September 24, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  7. ^ "Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2008" (PDF). Georgia Historical Society: 21. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  8. ^ AJC: Emotional Thurmond announces run for U.S. Senate
  9. ^ AJC: U.S. Senate election results Archived July 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ OCLC 607001888
  11. ^ "Biographical sketch" (PDF). Georgia Historical Society. August 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  12. ^ "Books All Georgians Should Read". Georgia Center for the Book. DeKalb County Public Library. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Mike Thurmond's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Thurmond