doesn't like losing.

Each time he bid for public office, he won. Two City Council District B campaigns. Two City Council at-large campaigns. One City Council campaign.

In the fall, Thomas wasn't competitive. City Council Vice President Helena Moreno won the New Orleans mayoralty outright in the October primary, garnering nearly 55% of the votes cast. There was no need for a runoff. State Sen. Royce Duplessis was second, with more than 22% of the vote. Thomas trailed with less than 19%. It was a big blow, a harsh reality.

Now 68, Thomas when he was younger, a big mistake. He did something illegal, something wrong. He paid the price. He was sent away.

NO.nomayor.101225.472.jpg

New Orleans City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Oliver Thomas talks with supporters after failing to make a runoff election against Helena Moreno, during a watch party at the Maison Blanche, an event venue at 10040 I-10 Service Rd. in New Orleans, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | )

After being on "vacation," Thomas returned to New Orleans, returned to public life and challenged an incumbent City Council member representing District E. He had been out of office for years. Doubters, haters and polls said he couldn't pull it off. He did, with almost 57% of the vote in a runoff.  He thought he was on his way to his dream job: mayor.

"I didn't run for mayor to come in second or third. I ran for mayor to win," OT shared with me, noting how he hadn't accepted his loss until days later. "Once that realization hit me, man, I just felt a moment of 'What did I do wrong?'"

Thomas knows what he did wrong. In 2002, he accepted more than $18,000 in kickbacks from a popular local businessman in exchange for helping the guy get a lucrative city parking contract in the always-busy, tough-to-find-parking French Quarter. He got away with it, and life was fine — until it wasn't. He got caught when he was recorded talking about what happened. In 2007, at age 50, Thomas pleaded guilty and resigned from the City Council seat from which he was expected to launch a mayoral bid. 

"It was wrong and I accept full responsibility for this action," he told journalists at a news conference that day. "I will continue to work for the city I love, and I have made peace with my God."

Once he completed his time behind bars, in a halfway house and on probation, OT was on the mend and on the move. The mayor's office seemed to be within striking distance.

It wasn't close.

OT and his family were shocked. He refused to accept the loss, going about his normal business as his family sheltered from the pain.

It took former City Councilman Jim Singleton to break it down for him so he could move forward. "It was OK for you to be on the Council. It was OK for you to do this and that, but they didn't want that image, no matter how good a leader, no matter how smart, no matter how well you knew the issues," he recalled Singleton telling him. "They still held it against you."

There were private polls showing that. Thomas ignored them.

Thomas has a wife and young kids.  College tuitions are coming. Thomas needs to work. He's weighing his options. It won't be long. His last full day in office is Jan. 11.

I can see OT as a nonprofit leader; an endowed or visiting professor with a focus on government, politics and urban affairs; a business executive with a broad portfolio, or maybe a business or political consultant with a variety of clients. But one thing's not in the cards, he says. "I'm not looking for a 9-to-5," he told me. 

Thomas can't say he's done with politics, though it's hard to imagine where he might fit. He insists experience and institutional knowledge have value. "Congress shouldn't be the only place where you have 70- and 80-year-old leaders," he said.

But where?

City Council? "I'm never going to say never."

Mayor? "That's one of the farthest things from my mind."

Congress? Others failed at mayoral bids and won congressional seats.

Still, he's realistic. He doesn't think enough voters are willing to forgive him. "That's a real thing."

What about a Moreno administration role? "They look at me as an adversary for life," he said. "People who know me know I'm not like that."

Since losing, Thomas has said there were "devils" against him, there are "sore winners." He can move into the new year with a new administration and be the anti-Helena voice, a constructive sounding board or a senior statesman. OT has so much to offer. He continues to get kudos for questioning former Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montano about fiscal affairs that have gone south.

Nearly everyone is awaiting word about his career-work choice. More want to see what path he takes to improve the city.

OT will be engaged.

"I will be involved in helping educate the public on who may be best and who deserves that opportunity," he said, referencing the Feb. 7 special legislative elections as an example," and who can help fight for the city."

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate.com.

More information

Will Sutton: Louisiana's Catahoula Crunch not racking up big wins

Will Sutton: Louisiana's Catahoula Crunch not racking up big wins

The U.S. Customs and Enforcement people are not the U.S. Border Patrol people. And they are not the only federal agencies going after the so-called “worst of the worst” and coming up short, but they have the highest profiles in Louisiana, and they’re the reason we’re in the national spotlight.

Will Sutton: New Orleans isn't just sick. It needs major surgery.

Will Sutton: New Orleans isn't just sick. It needs major surgery.

During the New Orleans mayoral campaign, we learned that the city was facing a deficit of about $65 million. That wasn't good. The city's fiscal health became an important issue, especially for mayoral and City Council candidates — and ultimately for the state, which was looked at as a backstop for its largest city.

Will Sutton: Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass had national coin spots. Then they were dropped.

Will Sutton: Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass had national coin spots. Then they were dropped.

Anybody who spent enough time in elementary school has heard of the Mayflower, the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address. Anybody who spent enough time in elementary school has heard of Frederick Douglass, even if that lesson was during Black History Month in February. And nearly everybody who spent enough time in elementary school has heard the name of and seen the famous painting of Ruby Bridges.

Tags