Allen Morris Thomas (born July 5, 1969) is an American politician. He was appointed on December 6, 2021, by President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

as Regional Administrator for the Southeast Region of the

United States Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

. As Region IV Administrator, Allen oversaw SBA programs, offices, and operations in the SBA's Southeast region, serving

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Allen co-founded healthcare technology startup IQMax. He was appointed Executive Director of the North Carolina Global TransPark by North Carolina Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

. Allen served as the mayor of Greenville, North Carolina, from December 2011 to July 2017, having first been elected in 2011 and reelected in 2013 and 2015. Thomas stepped down in July 2017 to take the position of executive director of the Global Transpark in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the ...

. He was appointed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In March 2019, Thomas left Global Transpark to run for Congress. After Thomas's departure, North Carolina State Auditor,

Beth Wood Beth A. Wood (born April 22, 1954) is an American politician and accountant who formerly served as the Auditor of North Carolina from 2009 until 2023. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the office. Born in New Bern, she initially worked ...

, released a report finding "significant misstatements" in Global Transpark's financial reporting, covering the fiscal year when Thomas was named the executive director. Thomas was a candidate for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in the

2019 North Carolina's 3rd congressional district special election A special election was held on September 10, 2019, to fill the vacancy in in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 116th United States Congress. Walter B. Jones Jr., the incumbent representative, died on February ...

, held after former representative Walter B. Jones Jr. died in office. On April 30, 2019, he won the Democratic primary and advanced to the September 10 general election, but lost to State Representative

Greg Murphy Gregory David Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first in ...

, the Republican nominee.State Board of elections: contest results for September 10 election
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Allen M. 1969 births Living people 21st-century mayors of places in North Carolina People from Greenville, North Carolina North Carolina Democrats Candidates in the 2019 United States elections

See also

References