My first encounter with the "Thomas Machine" was in 1995 as the newly elected Vice Chair Central of the State Party. I travelled to Kern County to meet with Mark Abernathy, who I had never met previously, and Kevin McCarthy, then a young staffer whom I HAD met previously and liked. My mission: get the Thomas endorsement for my Vice Chair campaign.
After exchanging pleasantries and such, the first question from Abernathy was: "are you supporting Phil Wyman for Senate?" At the time, Wyman was running against Democrat Jim Costa. Of course I was supporting him. But, when I said yes, that was pretty much it. Meeting over. That kind of vindictive politics has been experienced hundreds of times over and over again in Kern.
I would win the race with the endorsement of every elected official in Central California except Bill Thomas. And I found out what kind of organization he did indeed run. And over the years, I took them on often.
There is a chance for peace now in the County, which was our own little "Middle East" in the Central Valley, with non stop factional fighting going on for years. Every election was a "Thomas candidate" versus a "non Thomas candidate" and lately the "non Thomas candidates" were holding their own if not winning a few. The most recent epic battle was the nomination fight for State Assembly where McCarthy prevailed.
Kern County is too important to Republicans for constant bickering. There is no question that Thomas built an impressive political machine and solid Republican registration. That has to continue without him and I think it will. Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy, as the presumed favorite to replace his former boss, could go a long way in creating a unified Party in Kern. I never have felt that Kevin was leading the way on the acrimony, and I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in the future. The first action he should take is to allow the YRFC to exist and be recognized in Kern. It is simply ridiculous the time, effort, litigation and other sophmoric activity that has been the norm in Kern to keep YRFC out. Jim Brulte used to tell me that we "increase our chance of victory by addition, not subtraction" and he was right then and is right now.
At any rate, the Thomas era has come to an end, and his accomplishments should not be minimized. Had he been a nicer guy, his career would have been much easier to celebrate. For now, I am hoping for kinder and gentler leadership emanating from the South Valley.