Thomas Wood Thornhill, known as Tom Thornhill (born February 13, 1952) is an attorney

Attorney at law

An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...

 from Slidell

Slidell, Louisiana

Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...

 in St. Tammany Parish

St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, who served as the District 76 Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Louisiana House of Representatives

Louisiana State Legislature

The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...

 for a single term from 1996–2000.

With 7,113 votes (54.7 percent), Thornhill won the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 21, 1995, over an Independent and two other Republican candidates. The one-term incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

, Suzanne Mayfield Krieger

Suzanne Mayfield Krieger

Suzanne Mayfield Krieger is a lifelong resident of Slidell, Louisiana, who represented District 76 in the Louisiana House of Representatives as a Republican for a single term from 1992 to 1996...

, did not seek reelection but ran instead unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor. Four years earlier, Krieger had unseated veteran Republican Representative Edward C. Scogin

Ed Scogin

Edward C. Scogin, known as Ed Scogin , was from 1972-1992 a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Slidell in St. Tammany Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, known as a fiscal watchdog over state government...

 of Slidell. Thornhill did not seek reelection in 1999, when he was succeeded by Republican A. G. Crowe

A. G. Crowe

Almond Gaston Crowe, Jr., known as A.G. Crowe , is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 1 in St. Tammany Parish.- Political history :...

 of Slidell, a narrow winner over former Representative Suzanne Krieger.

Thornhill graduated from Bogalusa High School

Bogalusa High School

Bogalusa High School is the high school of the Bogalusa City Schools district. It is located in Bogalusa, Louisiana, United States.-Schedule Information:...

 in Bogalusa

Bogalusa, Louisiana

Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa...

 in Washington Parish

Washington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....

, one of the southeastern Florida Parishes

Florida Parishes

The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and the Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

, where he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He also did postgraduate work at Tulane University

Tulane University

Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...

 in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

. Thornhill was a delegate to the state Republican conventions in 1991 and 1995. He is affiliated with the Slidell Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

 and Little Theater. He is Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

. His wife is the former Linda Darbonne.

Thornhill, who was admitted to the practice of law in 1978, is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an association of trial lawyers recognized nationally for securing large settlements valued at a million dollars or more for clients. The Thornhill firm takes relatively few cases per year from the areas of southern Louisiana and Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Thornhill practices in the areas of Business, Insurance, and Personal Injury litigation. He is a member of the Slidell, New Orleans, state, and American

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

bar associations.