Ex-Bush Aide Fills New Job at Irvine Co.

Larry Thomas, former press secretary to Vice President George Bush and to California Gov. George Deukmejian, started work Wednesday as vice president of corporate communications for the Irvine Co.

In this newly created position, Thomas, 39, will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the company’s internal communications and media relations, and he will report to Irvine Co. Senior Vice President Gary Hunt. Thomas also will be in charge of corporate advertising and of the Irvine World News, a weekly circulated in Irvine and parts of Newport Beach and Tustin.

The new position reflects the company’s increased emphasis on the importance of dealing with the news media, said company spokeswoman Judy Frutig. Irvine Co. management “decided there is a growing need to communicate clearly and precisely what our goals and objectives are,” she said.

Frutig said that Thomas resigned as Bush’s press secretary after only a few months because he wanted to return to California.

Before he worked for Bush, Thomas was Deukmejian’s press secretary for four years. Thomas took a leave of absence from that job last year to direct the governor’s reelection campaign. From 1978 through 1982, he was senior manager of communications and public affairs for the Bechtel Group Inc. of San Francisco., a major engineering and construction company.