JOHNSBURG -- Johnsburg Supervisor William Thomas looked out from a viewpoint on Little Gore Mountain at the countryside miles around.
    "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. This is home," he said.
    Thomas is his own brand of Adirondack 46er, a title that usually refers to people who have climbed each of the 46 highest mountains in the region.
    "They talk about 46ers," he said. "I'm an Adirondack 46er. I've walked Gore Mountain 46 times."
    Actually, Thomas walks "The Mountain," as he calls it, about that many times a year.
     Virtually every Sunday afternoon, he walks there to get perspective on issues he deals with as town supervisor and chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors.
    "Sometimes you walk and don't think," he said. "And that's the best part."
    The 65-year-old Thomas will soon have more time to spend on the mountain, when he retires at the end of the year, wrapping up an 18-year stint in politics.
    He leaves office with notable successes, including protection of the rail line on which the Upper Hudson River Railroad operates.
    Another initiative, still in the planning stages, will run a ski lift connecting the town-owned Ski Bowl park with the state-owned Gore Mountain Ski Center.
    People who have worked with Thomas in government say his greatest achievements were accomplished behind the scenes.
    "He's always been a good friend, and somebody I admire for his ability to learn both sides of the issues and come to consensus," said state Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury.
    Even those who have at times been at odds with Thomas speak highly of him.
    "I've always found Bill to approach things in a low-key, level-headed kind of way," said Peter Bauer, executive director of the Fund for Lake George, "He would never go behind someone's back on anything, I always appreciated that."
    Bauer, in his previous job as executive director of the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, opposed some development projects Thomas supported.

.   Rob Thomas said his mother was a significant influence in his father's career, and that his parents had a remarkable relationship.
    "I could count the number of arguments they had in their 36 years of marriage on one hand," he said.
    Rob Thomas recalled a comment his father made when Carol Thomas died in 2002.
    "He actually commented to me on the day of her wake, 'You know, you think all kinds of funny things when these things happen, like will people still vote for me now that she's not there.' " the son recalled.
    William Thomas, walking on Little Gore Mountain recently, talked about how his job as supervisor helped him work through the grieving process.
    He focused on getting things done, and didn't have time to dwell on his loss.
    "It's good to be busy sometimes," he said.
   Now he's ready for a slower pace, with fewer meetings.
    Although retiring as supervisor, Thomas will continue to serve on the Adirondack Park Agency board, at least until his current term expires in 2010.
    It's important to have a few people on the board who are not lawyers, he said.
    "Lawyers, they can show you the facts and the details," he said, which is important, but it's also important to have another perspective.
   "I also have a more practical side -- like maybe I've been there and maybe there's another way of looking at it."
    Thomas said he enjoys serving on the APA board, but he has to read a lot of material before the meetings.
    "Spending an entire weekend reading those things keeps me off the mountain," he said. "I remember anything that keeps me off the mountain."
    Aside from serving on the APA board, Thomas isn't certain what he'll do after retirement, but it won't be in politics, he said. One thing he could do is work on a crew at Gore Mountain Ski Center this winter.
    "You've got to go where life takes you," Thomas said. "You never know where that's going to be, but I can't wait to find out."