Week 75: Mayor Kenneth Thomas
Mayors and councilmembers have an enormous influence on the development of a community. Former Chandler Mayor Kenneth Thomas served during a crucial time when annexation battles literally defined the shape of our city.
Kenneth Thomas was born on the west side of Phoenix in 1925. His parents were Welsh immigrants. They arrived in Arizona in 1920 to visit Kenneth’s maternal grandmother, who had moved to Arizona from Wales for her health. Kenneth’s father recounted their arrival as “we came for a visit, ran out of money, and couldn’t go back.” They settled in Phoenix, building an adobe house on Van Buren street where Kenneth was born.
Kenneth’s father was a field superintendent for Arizona Sand and Rock. He would travel across the state working on road paving projects. Kenneth travelled with him, and consequently ended up attending schools in every corner of Arizona. He finally graduated from Phoenix Union High School in 1942, and almost immediately enlisted in the Navy. He never saw combat during World War II, however, as he was assigned to a carrier service group in New York Harbor.
After his discharge from the Navy, Kenneth returned to Arizona and joined his brother, David Thomas, meat locker business in Chandler. Located on Arizona Avenue just north of Frye Road, the business offered beef, hog, and goat slaughtering, curing, and storage service. While the meat locker served local farms from Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe, their clients came from as far away as Apache Junction, Queen Creek, and Maricopa.
In 1964, Kenneth began his political career when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council. This appointment kickstarted a 15 year career in local politics. Her served as a councilmember until 1970, when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor. Re-elected to the council in 1972, he chose to run for mayor again at the end of Raul Navarrete’s term in 1976. His time on the council, as both a councilmember and a two term mayor, spanned a period of tremendous growth for Chandler.
One of the overriding issues during this time was municipal expansion and annexation. Kenneth participated in political battles with Phoenix, Tempe, and Gilbert over expansion of each community. The battle with Phoenix began when a developer came to Chandler looking for water to build a development in the foothills of South Mountain. When he felt he didn’t receive respect from Chandler, he went to Phoenix which promptly annexed the land that would ultimately become Ahwatukee. Phoenix Mayor Margaret Hance told the press that it was a move for the survival of Phoenix, because, in her words, the “little towns bleed us.” Kenneth fired off a letter to Mayor Hance, stating that the little towns don’t bleed Phoenix, they feed it. Hance never responded in writing, but the next time he saw her she went out of her way to seek him out and shake his hand.
Chandler and Tempe battled over the land between today’s US 60, Loop 101, Loop 202, and Interstate 10. Tempe desired to annex all the land to the Gila River Indian Community. Chandler wanted to have access to the proposed I-10 freeway, and considered the land as having traditionally been part of Chandler. The two cities compromised on a meandering border between Knox and Ray Roads.
Gilbert was also going through a growth spurt at the time. They wanted access to a state highway, and demanded that Chandler turn over the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Elliot Road. That would create an entryway to downtown Gilbert along Elliot. Chandler refused to cooperate, and the border was drawn to the east of the intersection.
Kenneth’s time in local politics came to an abrupt end in 1979. That year a recall election was launched against several members of the council. At the root of the recall effort was a spat over unionizing the police force. Mayor Thomas and three councilmembers opposed unionization. The successful recall campaign forced Kenneth and the others out of office, replacing them with more union friendly councilmembers.
Though Kenneth never returned to politics, he was able to dedicate more time to his favorite pasttimes: his family, dove hunting, and photography. He still resides in the house on Tulsa Street that he bought in the 1940s, and in which he built a photography black room. One of his favorite photography subjects is our local Tumbleweed Tree, which he has documented nearly every year since 1957.