Grover Laseke, Mayor of Woodland, WA, recently received a Certificate of Municipal Leadership (CML) from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). Mayor Laseke completed over 30 hours of training credits to earn this distinction.
The CML program is designed to enhance the ability of elected municipal officials by providing knowledge and skills to effectively operate within the law, plan for the future, secure and manage funds and foster community and staff relationships. To earn this certificate, the official attends a variety of AWC sponsored municipal workshops. The courses help the mayors and councilmembers learn the essentials of municipal service and improve their ability to work with council colleagues, city staff, and citizens.
Mayor Laseke moved to western Washington in 1970. Before being elected as Woodland’s mayor in 2012, he worked for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and also served as the Mayor for the City of Toledo. Grover came to Woodland in 1996 and served as the Chief of Police for eight years before retiring in 2004 with 30 years of law enforcement service. He worked for the last five years as the Emergency Management Director for the Cowlitz County Sheriff.
Mayor Laseke holds a bachelors degree in administration from City University of Seattle. He is also a 1992 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.
Grover believes that government’s purpose is to serve the citizens and calls himself the “Chief Public Servant” of Woodland. He is committed to providing service in the most efficient manner possible. He believes his success will be measured by how well he can work with the city council, city employees and other community groups to make Woodland a great place to live.
AWC is a private, non-profit, non-partisan corporation that represents Washington’s cities and towns before the state legislature, the state executive branch and with regulatory agencies. Membership is voluntary; however AWC maintains 100% participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns. The goal of AWC is to create and maintain livable cities and towns throughout the state.