Thomas Cowart Goolsby (born September 11, 1961) is a former Republican North Carolina State Senator representing New Hanover County. A graduate of

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

and regimental commander of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, Goolsby served as a

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

officer after college. Governor Jim Martin appointed him counsel to the State Crime Commission before he opened his legal practice, the Goolsby Law Firm, in Wilmington. He is a former chairman of the New Hanover County Republican Party and an adjunct professor of law at

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Christian university in Buies Creek, North Carolina, United States. Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek is home to its College of Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Divinity School, Scho ...

. Goolsby earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, ...

and his J.D. from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He is the president of Empowered Investor Inc. However, the investment adviser registrations of Goolsby, his partner James Upham, and the firm were revoked for at least ten years in 2014. Empowered Investor, Upham and Goolsby also were ordered to cease and desist from engaging in any practice involving securities or financial services business in North Carolina. At that time Goolsby claimed that the business was closed. He lives in Wilmington with his wife Rachael and three children, Fleming, Lilli, and Alabama.

Political career

2004 North Carolina Attorney General Republican primary

Goolsby ran for the Republican nomination in the

2004 North Carolina Attorney General election The 2004 North Carolina Attorney General election was held on November 2, 2004, along with the gubernatorial election, as well as the Presidential election. Incumbent Democratic State Attorney General Roy Cooper won re-election, while incumbe ...

, but lost the nomination to Joe Knott.

Election 2010

Goolsby won the race for District 9 of the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

in the November 2, 2010 general election. He defeated James Leutze (D) with 57% of the vote. In polling prior to the election, Goolsby held a significant lead over Leutze. Both candidates campaigned on the need to cut state spending and control taxes.

Campaign contributions

In 2010, Goolsby raised $394,588 in campaign contributions.

Election 2012

Goolsby was unopposed in the Republican primary on May 8, 2012. He faced Democratic nominee Deb Butler in the general election on November 6, 2012. During the general election campaign, Goolsby was criticized for his support of mandatory, trans-vaginal ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. Though Goolsby went on to win re-election, Butler's campaign ad on this topic generated national and international attention.

As state senator

Goolsby sponsored legislation that repealed the state's

Racial Justice Act The North Carolina Racial Justice Act of 2009 prohibited seeking or imposing the death penalty on the basis of race. It passed both the North Carolina State Senate and the North Carolina House of Representatives and was signed into law by Gover ...

, which had prohibited the imposition of the death penalty on the basis of race. As a member of the University of North Board of Governors he favored the re-installation of the controversial statue "

Silent Sam The Confederate Monument, University of North Carolina, commonly known as ''Silent Sam'', is a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier by Canadian sculptor John A. Wilson, which once stood on McCorkle Place of the University of North Carolin ...

" following its toppling by protesters. Goolsby has penned a number of opinion columns in local newspapers critical of the

Moral Mondays Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina, United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests bega ...

protests, calling them "Moron Mondays" and later "Money Mondays", and referring to protestors as "mostly white, angry, aged former hippies." Goolsby chose not to run for re-election in 2014, and he resigned from the legislature in August 2014, before the expiration of his term. His resignation followed the revocation by the secretary of state of his registration as an investment adviser, and his consent to the order. Clients had reportedly complained about losing money in volatile investments they never wanted.

Committees

Goolsby served as vice chairman of the Senate Judiciary I committee and chairman of both the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety and the Appropriations Committee on Justice and Public Safety. He chaired interim committees on pharmaceutical liability, retitling of manufactured homes and consolidation of judicial and prosecutorial districts. He was a member of interim committees on government operations, modernization of banking, energy policy and marine fisheries.Senator Thom Goolsby: Committees
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External links

Official Senate Website

Senator Thom Goolsby: Committees

Thom Goolsby's official campaign Web site
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goolsby, Thom 1961 births Living people Campbell University faculty The Citadel alumni Golden Gate University alumni North Carolina lawyers Republican Party North Carolina state senators People from Dothan, Alabama United States Marines University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly