Regena Thomas facts for kids

Regena Thomas was born in 1957. She is known for being the former Secretary of State of New Jersey. She also works as a political consultant. Regena Thomas served in the government teams of former Governors James McGreevey and Richard Codey.

Who is Regena Thomas?

Early Career and Political Work

Regena Thomas started her career working in government. She worked for the state government in Kentucky. Later, she worked for the local government in the District of Columbia. She became very good at helping political campaigns. She specialized in encouraging people to vote for Democratic candidates.

Her skills led her to start her own company. This company helped politicians with their campaigns. She worked with many candidates running for statewide offices in New Jersey. For example, she helped with efforts to get people to vote in the 1996 U.S. Senate campaign for Robert Torricelli. She also worked on the 2000 U.S. Senate campaign for Jon Corzine. In 2001, she helped James McGreevey's campaign for governor. She also assisted Corzine's campaign for governor in 2005.

Serving as Secretary of State

After James McGreevey won the election in 2001, he chose Regena Thomas for an important job. He appointed her as the Secretary of State for New Jersey. She served in this role for four years. As Secretary of State, she had many responsibilities.

Her duties included looking after the state's important historical documents. She also managed cultural affairs and programs for minority groups. She was in charge of promoting volunteerism and helping Native American communities. Other tasks included supporting literacy and preserving state history. She was also responsible for keeping official state records.

There was some discussion about moving state elections to her office. This responsibility was usually handled by the New Jersey Attorney General. Some people were concerned because of her background in political campaigns. Before this, state elections were under the Secretary of State. However, former Governor Christine Todd Whitman had moved them to the attorney general's office.

Challenges and Departure

During her time as Secretary of State, Regena Thomas faced some criticism. Some lawmakers were concerned about her taking time off. They also thought she might be doing political work from her state office. Thomas stated that she did any political work in her own time.

In 2004, she took a leave of absence for several months. She said she needed this time to "recharge her batteries." During this break, she also helped with the presidential campaign. She worked for Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards. There were reports that she was interested in becoming the United States Ambassador to Haiti. This would have happened if Kerry had won the 2004 presidential election.

As part of her official duties, Thomas had a significant role in November 2004. She was the person who officially accepted Governor McGreevey's resignation. Regena Thomas left her position in January 2006. Her four-year term, as required by the state's rules, had ended.

Later Career

Work with the National Democratic Committee

In 2014, Regena Thomas received a promotion. She became the director of community engagement for the National Democratic Committee. She also continued her role as a senior adviser in the political department.

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