MEET THOMAS
Thomas lives in Fargo with his high school sweetheart, Shana, and their dog Eisenhower. He’s been honored to represent District 27 in the North Dakota State House for the last decade.
Thomas comes from a family that has long valued public service. His grandfather, Earl Strinden, was House Majority Leader and served in state government from 1966-1988. His stepfather, Tony Grindberg, was a state senator from 1992-2014 and is currently on the Fargo City Commission. His aunt, Michelle Strinden, was elected to the ND House in 2018 and is currently serving.
After graduating from Concordia College with an Economics degree, he went into business for himself as a real estate broker. He’s worked with clients across North Dakota ranging from start up businesses and new investors to large national companies. A year ago, he accepted an offer from a former client to join them as their Business Development Manager. In addition, he proudly serves as a board member for the North Dakota Autism Center. These experiences have taught him about fiscal responsibility, investment management and conservative spending habits.
As a business leader, a lawmaker, and an active community member, he understands the value of a dollar. It is important that our government understands it too and does everything it can to protect taxpayers and respect their hard earned money. That's the mindset that he’s brought with him to Bismarck.
Over the past decade in the legislature he’s supported, voted for and helped pass income tax cuts that cut your individual rates in half. He’s also supported, voted for and helped pass initiatives like the Prairie Dog Bill and increased K-12 funding. These bills have given billions of dollars back to cities, counties and school districts so they could lower your property tax rates and ensure that you can keep more of your money.
Additionally, in his service on the Appropriations committee he’s worked with our state agencies to create efficiencies, reduce the size of their departments and invest in new technology to increase productivity and ensure our systems are secure. He has a proven track record of listening to your concerns and working to get results, which is why he’s been consistently ranked as the highest rated legislator by our business community in North Dakota.
As Treasurer, he plans to put his proven record to work. As a Republican, this means promoting transparency and accountability in government, implementing new technology to improve efficiencies, and protecting your tax dollars by giving you back your hard earned money and limiting spending where possible.
The Treasurer’s office touches every single taxpayer dollar that flows through the state of North Dakota. You deserve to know where this money is being spent, who is doing the spending, and have it easily accessible so that you can hold agencies accountable. The Treasurer sits on boards that collectively invest over $21 billion in taxpayer money. You should have trust that the state is being a good steward of your hard earned money.
“Whether in business or in government, results matter. Experience matters. I look forward to putting my experience to work for you and delivering results for our state.” - Thomas
