2016 – 2023

La Center Mayor Greg Thornton is pictured in this file photo from October 2019.

Posted Monday, August 7, 2023 9:13 pm. Rick Bannan / rick@thereflector.com

Though other city leaders may have disagreed with his direction, former La Center Mayor Greg Thornton’s dedication to the place he represented was never in question.

Thornton died July 21 following a long illness, according to a memorial page for the former mayor. The city received notification that weekend, and current Mayor Tom Strobehn announced Thornton’s passing at the July 26 City Council meeting.

Strobehn had worked with Thornton as a member of the City Council after Strobehn’s appointment in 2018. He admitted he butted heads with Thornton on city issues.

“We didn’t see eye to eye on quite a few different things, but we were cordial with each other,” Strobehn said.

Thornton began his career in city government as a member of the La Center Planning Commission from 2007 to 2010, when he was appointed to the City Council. He ran and won election for mayor in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019.

Thornton resigned from his position in March. A news release from the city at the time stated how he “successfully led the City of La Center through major organizational restructuring processes, policy updates and staffing changes.”

The release noted La Center’s population grew by 25% during Thornton’s tenure. He established “excellence relationships” with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and staff at the tribe’s casino resort, ilani, which opened its doors in 2017. The casino had an impact on the city’s card room revenue, leading to a need to look at other revenue sources that Thornton helped to initiate.

Thornton’s care for the city was evident to Strobehn. He said naming the new city hall after the former mayor was a way of recognizing Thornton’s dedication.

Although initially the council was opposed to putting money into renovating the new building, Thornton was able to spearhead a push for state funding to help make it happen, Strobehn said.

“Even if we butted heads at that time, I still have to take my hat off to the service he gave the city and the love he had for the city because that’s definitely genuine,” Strobehn said.

Strobehn looked up to Thornton for his demeanor. Thornton was able to react calmly to an impassioned public, and Strobehn couldn’t recall any time his predecessor spoke ill of anyone.

“He never made rash decisions,” Strobehn said.

From current mayor to a former one, current City Councilor Liz Cerveny remembered Thornton as ethical and “full of integrity” and as someone focused on long-term goals for the city. 

Cerveny herself served as mayor from 1997 to 2003. She worked with Thornton when she began her tenure on the council in 2012.

“His role, whether as council member, planning commission or mayor, was never about himself,” Cerveny said, adding she didn’t think of Thornton as a politician, but as a statesman because of a drive to represent the city and its citizens.

She said Thornton was successful in building connections with leaders in state and federal governments. When the growing city had to take serious consideration of its financial future, Thornton was one to make the hard decisions on what the city needed to invest in, Cerveny said.

She described Thornton as humble and a good listener who tried to explain city business in a way residents could understand.

“He had a big heart, and he loved the community deeply,” Cerveny said.