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There’s still over a month for us to write about the time Jim Thornton spent as mayor of LaGrange, and we certainly plan to over the next six or seven weeks before he moves on to his new role with Georgia Municipal Association.

But first, like many of you, we admit we were surprised at the news Tuesday that Thornton was leaving LaGrange. In fact, on a busy news day spent chasing a movie crew around downtown and trying to cover two Troup County Commission meetings, the email sort of fell in our inboxes for a few minutes before someone saw it.

We’re sure many of you were surprised too.

But like us, we’re sure many of you reading this are happy for Thornton and this new opportunity with GMA. He said his phone received message after message from people Tuesday afternoon, thanking him for his time as mayor and saying congratulations.

He’s guided the city of LaGrange for almost the last decade through good and bad, through COVID and many unique circumstances, always a steady hand at the wheel. 

Now, his leadership will be felt even more on the state level, and we think that’s probably a good thing for GMA and for the 537 cities the organization represents.

There will be plenty of time for reflection and for looking forward toward what figures to be an interesting mayoral election. 

For now, we think the only thing to say is thank you and congratulations to Thornton for the job he’s done and for the job he’s earned.