Randal Tye Thomas served as mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Gun Barrel City, Texas

Gun Barrel City, Texas

Gun Barrel City is a city in Henderson County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,145 at the 2000 census.The town began as an unincorporated community known as the "Old Bethel Community" in the 1960s after completion of Cedar Creek Reservoir. It was incorporated in the late 1960s so it...

. He was also a member of the Electoral College

Electoral college

An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...

 in the 2000 Presidential Election

2000 presidential election

The 2000 presidential election may refer to:* Croatian presidential elections, 2000* Federal Republic of Yugoslavia presidential election, 2000* Fijian presidential election, 2000* Ghanaian presidential election, 2000* Polish presidential election, 2000...

.

Early years

Tye Thomas was raised in Mabank, Texas

Mabank, Texas

Mabank is a town in Henderson and Kaufman Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,151 at the 2000 census. The population estimate as of January 1, 2007 was 2,816.-Geography:Mabank is located at ....

. While a student at Mabank High School

Mabank High School

Mabank High School, is the only high school in Mabank Independent School District. It is located in the city of Mabank, Texas .In addition to the city of Mabank, the school serves southeast Kaufman, southwest Van Zandt, and northwest Henderson counties, including the community of Gun Barrel City...

, he published a monthly newspaper called Cedar Creek Briefs. Based on this newspaper, he won a partial scholarship to Johnson & Wales University

Johnson & Wales University

Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, is home to JWU's first and largest of four currently operating campuses. Founded as a business school in 1914, by...

 in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. As a freshman, he was elected to serve as the first president of the newly formed College Republicans

College Republicans

The College Republican National Committee is a national organization for college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States...

 club. Later, he was elected Student Body President by a margin of three votes. He moved to Gun Barrel City in 1999 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.

Election

In January 2000, Thomas founded Lakeside News, a weekly newspaper in Gun Barrel City. In May 2000, he defeated Charles Robinson in the general election on May 6, 2000 at the age of twenty-one, becoming the city's youngest mayor and Texas' youngest mayor.

The first few months of his administration were marked by significant accomplishment, widespread support, and national media attention. However, community support began to diminish when Henderson County, Texas

Henderson County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 73,277 people, 28,804 households, and 20,969 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 35,935 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...

 District Attorney Donna R. Bennett launched an investigation focusing on Thomas. The allegations included misuse of city equipment and perjury.

A Henderson County Grand Jury indicted Thomas in April 2001 for one count of misdemeanor perjury. The same week, Thomas was arrested for public intoxication (also a misdemeanor) after he called police repeatedly, demanding to be arrested.

A few weeks later, after serving 54 weeks in office, Thomas resigned as mayor. All criminal charges associated with the Texas Ranger investigation were dismissed.

After his resignation, Thomas and the community were featured in various publications and programs, including Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...

 and the popular national radio program This American Life

This American Life

This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...

.

Thomas moved to the Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

area in 2002.