The Mayor's Office - Grover Laseke

Mayor Grover Laseke was born and raised in Chicago before coming to western Washington in 1970. He worked for the Lewis County Sheriff's Office for over 21 years and also served as the Mayor for the City of Toledo for five years. 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 has worked for the last five years as the Emergency Management Director for the Cowlitz County Sheriff.

Grover graduated from WF West High School in Chehalis and attended Centralia College where he received an associates degree in law enforcement. In 1993, Grover received 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 is married to Goni who is a special education teacher at the Pleasant Valley Middle School in the Battle Ground School District. He has five children and ten grandchildren who all live in western Washington. Grover is a private pilot and amateur radio operator. He enjoys hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and has summited Mt. Hood four times, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens once each. Grover is a member of the Woodland Presbyterian Church and a charter member of the Woodland Rotary Club.

Grover took office as Mayor on January 1, 2012. He 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. 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.