Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. plans to run again for the Ward 5 council seat in 2022, nine years after he went to prison for stealing taxpayer funds intended for children.

       Thomas, 61, resigned from the council in 2012 after federal prosecutors accused him of steering $350,000 in funds for youth programs to finance his personal spending, including travel and a luxury vehicle. He denied wrongdoing for months before he pleaded guilty to federal charges of embezzlement and tax fraud.

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       Thomas has dabbled in politics since his incarceration ended in 2015. Last year, he was elected to serve as a committeeman in Ward 5 for the D.C. Democratic Party; last month, he won a special election to fill a seat vacated by his son on the ward’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

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       He now aspires to reclaim the Ward 5 council seat that he left in disgrace. He says he’s been humbled by his experiences, and that as a council member he would fight for affordable housing and job training to help economically disadvantaged ward residents.

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       “I think I’ve worked my way back in the community,” Thomas said. “I learned so many things throughout that process about ethics … I think I’m better for it, and for the many people who were [there] through what I did, I need to restore their lives, too.”

       Thomas said he had filed preliminary paperwork with the city’s Office of Campaign Finance on Monday in hopes of attending an upcoming candidate forum. Axios D.C. first reported Monday about Thomas’s intentions to run.

       After embezzling youth funds, a former D.C. lawmaker reenters politics

       Thomas, whose father, Harry Thomas Sr., held the Ward 5 council seat for 12 years, said he will probably participate in the city program that offers public financing to candidates who only accept small-dollar donations.

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       Four others have filed paperwork to run for the Ward 5 seat held by Kenyan R. McDuffie (D): former Ward 5 Council member Vincent B. Orange; chairman of the Ward 5 Democrats Gordon-Andrew Fletcher; Faith Gibson Hubbard, a former official in the Bowser administration; and D.C. State Board of Education President Zachary Parker are all running as Democrats.

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       McDuffie is running for D.C. attorney general and will leave the council at the end of his term.

       Thomas said he wants to strengthen pipelines to connect residents to resources — like housing for seniors in danger of being priced out — and offer more vocational opportunities for youths. He spoke of the digital divide and expanding technological access, asserting that city officials have become too reliant on social media to communicate with constituents.

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       He also pointed to some of the legislation he championed and supported while in office, including bills that aimed to make it easier for formerly incarcerated residents to find work. As a delegate last year at the Democratic National Convention, Thomas said he highlighted inequities faced by those who are returning to communities after spending time in jail.

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       He got a mixed reaction from local leaders in Ward 5 last year when he joined the D.C. Democratic Party leadership. Some welcomed his return to city politics, while others felt his misdeeds had irreparably eroded the public’s trust in him.

       Asked how he might respond to residents who now only recognize him for his crimes, Thomas said he feels he can win them over.

       “People have to see me, look at my life and give me an honest chance,” he said.