If you live in San Angelo and have paid much attention to local issues over the past year, you've probably heard the name Harry Thomas.

You've probably heard it connected to data centers.

More recently, you've heard it connected to a recall election.

But before sitting down with Harry for the latest Voices San Angelo conversation on the A/T Podcast, I realized something: we spend a lot of time talking about our elected officials and their decisions, but sometimes very little time actually getting to know the people making them.

That's where I wanted this conversation to start.

Not with the data center.

Not with the recall.

With Harry Thomas.

More Than 50 Years in San Angelo

Harry came to San Angelo in 1971 while serving in the United States Air Force. He had originally arrived through Goodfellow, and ultimately San Angelo became home.

That was 55 years ago.

After eight years in the Air Force, Harry built a career at the Goodyear Proving Grounds north of San Angelo that lasted more than 40 years.

And his path there wasn't exactly a straight line.

He started out driving trucks and testing tires. While working, he attended Angelo State University and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1977. Eventually he moved through the organization and, in 1991, became manager of accounting and purchasing, handling budgets and serving on the facility's leadership team.

But something else was happening during those years.

Harry was becoming increasingly involved in the community.

A Life of Service Before City Council

Long before Harry Thomas was a city councilman, he was serving on nonprofit boards.

During our conversation, he walked me through a list that frankly became difficult to keep up with.

Twenty-four years with the Boys & Girls Club board.

A founding member of the State Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, where he served six years as board president.

United Way.

Fort Concho.

Leadership San Angelo.

The Elks.

The American Legion.

The East Angelo Lions Club.

And that's not an exhaustive description of his community involvement.

When Harry retired from Goodyear in 2012, he told me he had made himself a promise: he wasn't going to go home and simply sit in a chair.

Eventually, that led him toward City Council.

But something he told me about that decision stood out.

Before running, Harry spent four years sitting in the audience at City Council meetings, reading agendas and background material and trying to understand how the city operated.

His thinking about eventually running was simple. He had spent years serving organizations that affected dozens or hundreds of people.

What if he could serve 100,000?

He ran in 2016 and won.

“I Have a Pretty Special Lady”

One of my favorite moments in the interview had nothing to do with politics.

Harry told me he and his wife have been married for 47 years. They have two sons and two granddaughters.

I've interviewed elected officials, and something I've noticed is that public service doesn't affect only the person whose name appears on the ballot.

Their families serve in a way, too.

So I asked Harry about that.

I mentioned that his wife has, in some ways, had to give up some of her time with him so he could attend meetings, serve organizations and spend years involved in the community.

Harry smiled.

Then he said:

“I have a pretty special lady. She's been doing this for 47 years.”

It was a small moment in a nearly hour-long conversation.

But it may have told me as much about Harry Thomas as anything else we discussed.

Then We Talked About the Difficult Stuff

Of course, I wasn't going to invite Harry onto the podcast and avoid the issues that have made his name part of so much public discussion.

We talked about the proposed data center development.

I asked him about water.

I asked about the city's ordinances.

And I asked about something I think has become lost in some of the public discussion: What exactly has the City Council actually approved?

Harry's position is that the council has so far approved regulations intended to protect residents—not the final sale of the land.

In his words:

“Really the only thing we voted on so far is protections for the citizens. We have not sold the land yet.”

He discussed noise limits, water usage, wastewater, setbacks and restrictions around generator testing.

Whether you agree with Harry's position on the proposed development or not, I think it's important to hear him explain it himself.

That's one of the reasons I wanted to have this conversation.

And Then, the Recall

Eventually I asked Harry a very direct question:

Why do you think you were targeted?

His answer wasn't primarily about ideology.

It was about numbers.

Harry pointed to the extremely low voter participation in Single Member District 3. He said that in the May 2023 election, only 155 people in the district voted, despite the district now having roughly 5,400 registered voters.

Because the number of signatures required for a recall was based on that turnout, petition organizers needed only 47 valid signatures.

They ultimately obtained 53 certified signatures.

Harry believes that made him an easier target.

But there was another part of that discussion that I found interesting.

Harry told me the recall has produced an unexpected side effect: more people are contacting him.

He said he previously might handle five or six constituent issues in a week. Now, sometimes he's getting three or four in a day.

People who may not have known who represented them suddenly do.

More people are asking questions.

More people are asking for help.

More people are engaged.

There is something worth thinking about there.

Maybe Engagement Is the Bigger Story

We can argue about data centers.

We can argue about Harry Thomas.

We can argue about whether a recall is justified.

That's democracy.

But 155 voters participating in a district election with thousands of registered voters should probably concern all of us, regardless of which side of the current debate we're on.

A community can't be fully represented if most of us aren't participating.

And participation means more than showing up once an issue makes us angry.

It means knowing who represents us.

Watching meetings occasionally.

Asking questions.

Contacting elected officials.

Voting.

And, perhaps most importantly, being willing to hear from people we disagree with.

That's part of what I'm trying to accomplish with Voices San Angelo.

I'm not interested in telling you what to think about Harry Thomas.

I wanted to give Harry the opportunity to tell us who he is, explain the decisions he's made, and answer some difficult questions.

You can decide what you think.

That's the point.

At the end of our conversation, Harry seemed fairly at peace with whatever voters ultimately decide.

If he's recalled, he told me he'll remain involved in the community—and maybe spend a little more time fishing.

If he isn't, he says he'll continue serving until his term ends in May 2027.

Either way, after nearly an hour sitting across from him, I came away knowing considerably more about the man whose name we've all been hearing.

And I hope when you watch the conversation, you will too.

The full length conversation is now available on

Youtube at https://youtu.be/JeHwudFVW0k?si=KVaHkUMTbwTv1ELL and

Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/episode/39dRVayZrV2RxPNUHYgTXB?si=Ik63BLz4R6aA2AGI59xmHQ

— Gabe Menchaca Voices San Angelo | A/T Podcast