Jerry Thorne, who served more than 15 years on the Pleasnton City Council, including eight years as mayor, has died, according to a city press release.
The Pleasanton Weekly reported that he died Sunday at his home in Marana, Arizona at the age of 77.
Thorne spent more than 25 years in public service in Pleasanton, including two years on the city’s Human Services Commission and a decade on the Parks and Recreation Commission, according to the city statement.
Thorne was first elected to the City Council in a 2005 special election, then was re-elecrted in 2006 and 2010.
He successfully ran for mayor in 2012 and went on to serve four consecutive two-year terms in that role through mid-December 2020, when he termed out of office.
Nelson Fialho, who was Pleasanton’s city manager at the time Thorne served on the council, remembered Thorne and his “steady” demeanor fondly.
“Simply put, he was a good and decent man. A true public servant who believed in his community, loved his family, and honored the role he occupied as mayor and council member to make Pleasanton a great place,” Fialho said.
“Pleasanton benefited from his steady hand, his patience, his respect, and his demeanor. He was a steady person. He helped guide us through a lot of things” during his long tenure, including the recession, Fialho said.
“He brought to the role of councilmember and mayor a very strong business orientation to match his over 40 years of residency in the city,” Fialho added.
Thorne, who was born in Tennessee and served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1969, worked at Agilent Technologies in the South Bay for nearly three decades, according to a previous candidate biography.
In an interview with this news organization shortly after his successful campaign for mayor in 2012, Thorne’s business focus was evident. He said some of his top priorities upon taking office would be to balance the budget and work on pension negotiations, as well as create performance measurement standards to help city staff in the budgeting process.
He described his public sevice as a hobby that he thoroughly enjoyed, not just another job.
“Driven by a passion for our community’s quality of life, he proudly advocated for the expansion of the aquatics center and co-authored the successful Save Our Community Park ballot initiative, which resulted in the construction of three baseball fields at Bernal Community Park,” the city said.
Fialho said the community park was a “shining legacy” for Thorne, among other accomplishments.
“He championed that, he led it, he found the money for it, and inspired all of us on staff to get it done,” he said.
The city will lower flags at its Civic Center through Tuesday in honor of Thorne.
“Mayor Thorne’s passion for Pleasanton was evident throughout his long and impactful 25-year public service career,” Pleasanton’s Interim City Manager Brian Dolan said in a statement.
“His advocacy for enhancing our quality of life and expanding activities for residents, in addition to his focus on transportation projects that helped alleviate regional commuter traffic, are among long-lasting achievements that will continue to benefit the Pleasanton community and its citizens for many years,” Dolan said.
Thorne is preceded in death by his first wife, Sandi Thorne, who died in 2018 at the age of 80. He is survived by his wife Kalee Thorne, daughter Keri Thorne Gough and her husband, and two grandchildren.