Lyda Ann Thomas

Lyda Ann Thomas is the former mayor of Galveston, Texas, United States. She was first elected in 2004 to succeed Roger "Bo" Quiroga. Thomas was the third female mayor of Galveston.^[1]

Education and politics

Thomas attended The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. Thomas ran for District 4 for the Galveston City Council in 1998. She won both permitted elections after that until term-limited out. In 2004 she ran for, and was elected, Mayor of Galveston. Thomas proceeded to serve three terms as mayor, and stepped down in 2010 after reaching her a city-imposed term-limit.^[2]

Hurricane Rita

On September 20, 2005 during Hurricane Rita, Thomas declared a state of emergency and ordered an evacuation effective 6 PM the following day. When added to the panicked flight from Houston, this exacerbated the congestion in the area. She was however praised for her caution, receiving the 2007 National Blueprint Best Practices Award from the National Council on Readiness & Preparedness.

Hurricane Ike

On August 4, 2008 when Tropical Storm Edouard came ashore, Thomas limited her statements to a warning.

When Hurricane Ike approached Galveston, on September 10 at noon Thomas said that although she did not expect to be ordering an evacuation, she asked for a voluntary evacuation of the western part of the island. At 5 PM this hardened to a mandatory order and she suggested voluntary evacuation for the rest of the island.

Thomas ordered the full evacuation 9:30 AM on September 11, in a news conference with Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough. She told the media at the time that she had wanted to avoid an evacuation order.

References

External links

• The City Council of Galveston, Texas
• Evacuation worked, but created a highway horror O'Driscoll, Patrick; Richard Wolf and Rick Hampson (9/26/2005 7:47 PM). USA Today
• With Rita strengthening, Galveston orders evacuation
• Gulf Coast residents watch surprise tropical storm
• Ike's changing course delayed Galveston's evacuation call, city says