Former Tenino mayor Eric Strawn has died, the City of Tenino announced Wednesday.
“The city is not at liberty to share any details regarding former Mayor Strawn’s passing, but we would like to extend our condolences to his friends and family,” city officials posted on Facebook. “Mayor Strawn’s family is in our thoughts.”
Strawn was elected to the office in 2011 at the age of 35 and served as Tenino’s mayor from January 2012 until his resignation in May 2013.
“I am doing this to hopefully better our community, the place I was born and raised and I do love Tenino,” he wrote in a Facebook post announcing his resignation, according to previous Chronicle reporting. “I have said from the beginning that I am not the solution to Tenino’s problems,” he wrote, “but hopefully I am the catalyst for another to take initiative to lead our city.”
Strawn was a source of controversy in Tenino prior to his election as mayor and caused more unrest within the city while he held the position.
He moved with his family to Kihei, Hawaii, following his resignation.