Ronnie Thompson (politician)

Ronald John "Ronnie" Thompson Sr. (July 21, 1934 – March 22, 2020), also known by "Machine Gun Ronnie" Thompson, was an American gospel singer, politician, musician, and mental health caseworker.

Thompson was born in Augusta, Georgia, on July 21, 1934, to Remus Warren Thompson and Mattie Lou (nee Watkins).

His family, who originally worked with the cotton mills, lived in poverty.

Thompson's father sang in an Augusta-based quartet, which started an interest in music early in life.

By his own admission, Thompson was raised as a segregationist until he was 11-years old, when he encountered a black boy who was crying because he was not allowed to use a whites-only bathroom at a rest area in Sparta, Georgia.

Ronnie Thompson joined the United States Air Force.

He was honorably discharged but remained at Robins Air Force Base, where he entertained as a member of a gospel quartet.

He formed his own group, the Ronnie Thompson Quartet, by 1955.

In addition to his work in gospel, Ronnie Thompson also released several Contemporary Christian and country music albums and other recordings during the era, including a single alluding to his future political career called "City Slicks and Politics".

His first country album was released in 1958.

Observers and journalists have speculated that Thompson would have become a prominent, famous musician or entertainer had he lived elsewhere.

During the 1960s, Thompson became a household name across Georgia and parts of the American South for his live gospel music television shows.

He also recorded and released his own contemporary Christian and country music albums and singles.

However, Thompson still became a regional household name, especially in Georgia and North Carolina, due to his series of gospel music shows, which were broadcast on local television stations throughout the 1960s.

In 1960, then-Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver publicly praised Thompson for holding several live gospel shows at a state mental hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Thompson also became friends with regional and national musicians of the time, including the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding.

He was also friends with James Brown.

Both Brown and Thompson had grown up in Augusta and worked as shoe shiners as kids in their hometown but didn't meet until they each had moved to Macon.

Thompson sometimes accompanied Brown on his tours to help with security and police escorts.

Ronnie Thompson would later record a country album, called "Here I Am", with James Brown's record company, Starday Records.

Though "Here I Am" had a limited release, Thompson's album came with a "A James Brown Production" logo due to its production at Starday, making it a rare vinyl record collectible item.

Thompson also worked a traveling jewelry salesman before settling in Macon, Georgia, where he expanded his jewelry business.

Thompson's ongoing success in the music industry led to an interest in politics during the 1960s.

Prior to running for office, Louisiana Governor Jimmy Davis advised Thompson that the key to a successful political career was to "sing softly and carry a big guitar."

In 1961, Thompson ran for office for the first for a vacant seat on the Bibb County Commission, but lost the election.

However, two years later, Macon Mayor Benjamin Merritt encouraged Thompson to run for an alderman seat on the Macon City Council.

This time, Ronnie Thompson defeated incumbent alderman Bert Hamilton in the nonpartisan city election to win the seat on the council.

In 1967, Thompson was elected Mayor of Macon, Georgia, becoming the city's first Republican mayor in its history.

He became known for his unorthodox, often controversial, views and colorful, charismatic personality during his tenure as mayor, which spanned two terms from 1967 to 1975.

He served on city council until he was elected Mayor of Macon in 1967.

In 1967, Ronnie Thompson, who was 33-years old, announced his campaign against his former political mentor, incumbent Mayor Benjamin Merritt, who was seeking re-election.

Unusually, Thompson ran for mayor as a Republican, in a city and region dominated by Democrats at the time as well as the fact that Thompson was formerly a Democrat.

Thompson narrowly won the election with 14,732 votes, while Mayor Merritt garnered 13,002 votes.

Thompson made history by becoming Macon's first Republican mayor in its history.

Ronnie Thompson's 1967 mayoral campaign was supported by several of his colleagues in the music industry.

Otis Redding and Phil Walden, the founder of Macon-based Capricorn Records, gave Thompson space in the Redwal Music Building on Cotton Avenue for use as a campaign headquarters.

Redding, who had worked with Thompson, died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, a little more than one month after Thompson had been inaugurated as Macon's mayor.

Mayor Thompson quickly renamed and rededicated one of Macon's bridges as the "Otis Redding Bridge" in the singer's memory.

When Thompson was sworn in as mayor shortly after the 1967 election, he presided over a city still in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the racial tensions that gripped the South at the time.

He won re-election to a second term in 1971 when he defeated Democrat F. Emory Greene, a Bibb County commissioner and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives.