By DAVE SCHULTZ
Roger Thornton had an ending date in mind for his service on the Bluffton Common Council, announcing in May that he would not seek a second term in 2023.
This week, Thornton moved that schedule up by more than a year.
Thornton, a Republican who represents District 1 on the council, wrote a letter to Wells County GOP Chairman Zach Rodgers that he would be resigning his position on the council effective Nov. 30.
Thornton is also a member of the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety, and he said Thursday he wanted his resignation letter to cover the Board of Works as well. Board of Works members do not have to be Common Council members, but Thornton wanted to leave both positions.
Thornton said he ran for public office not to just hold the office, but that he wanted to get things done. He said he had three primary goals when he began his service on the council — creating additional housing, increasing amenities, and for the city to be more cooperative with developers — and he thinks those things are in the process of being accomplished.
He pointed to a recent development — the hiring of Kelly White as a full-city city engineer — as something that is a “major, major, major step” in that last priority. White begins her service to the city Oct. 24.
In his resignation letter, which will soon be available on the News-Banner’s website, Thornton lists a number of projects started or completed during the first two years and 10 months since John Whicker became mayor and Thornton and four other Republicans took office on the council. They include completion of the water treatment plant, new housing developments, improvements to the city’s electrical system, pedestrian access to the Interurban Trail at Willowbrook and Dustman Road, and securing grants to improve Lancaster Park and extend the Interurban Trail to that park.
There are other items on the horizon, Thornton said, that concern fire protection and the status of the Wells Community Pool.
His wording in his resignation letter makes many of the same points he made when he announced in May that he would not seek a second term. He said he has a “bucket list” of personal goals and his personal health and his family’s health history.
“Those who will be implementing the fire protection decisions should be the ones making the decisions,” he said, acknowledging that will be a long-term project. “Thus, now seems the best time for the transition. I hereby tender my resignation effective Nov. 30, 2022.”
Shortly after he made the announcement that he would not run for a second term, Chandler Gerber said he would be a candidate to succeed him as the District 1 council member.
Rodgers, as party chair, will call a meeting of Republican precinct committee leaders to choose Thornton’s successor for the remainder of his term, which concludes Dec. 31, 2023.
daves@news-banner.com
