LA GRANDE — After four terms as mayor, Steve Clements is ready to move on.

The La Grande mayor announced at the city council’s most recent meeting that he will not be running for mayor in the election next November. Clements has served four terms as mayor, which includes functioning also as a member of the city council. Through the many responsibilities of the position, serving the community has remained at the forefront of Clements’ priorities as mayor.

“I thought it was a good time to go on a high note,” he said. “I did pretty well in the last election and I hope that’s a good indication of how people view my performance. It’s time to move on to some other things.”

Clements has served as mayor since 2014, last winning reelection in 2020. His term will officially end at the first regular session of January 2023, when new councilors are sworn in.

Clements moved to La Grande in 1990, after graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and first ran for city council in 1992. His initial running platform, which he now says was a naive assumption, was to ensure that all roads were paved and that every street would have sidewalks on each side. After several attempts, Clements earned a spot on the council in 1993 and later served from 1998-2010.

From the start, the mayor position was never about political gain.

“For me, being part of a community is about serving the community. I don’t look at the mayor’s position as a power trip or a stepping stone to another elected office,” he said.

As a councilor and as mayor, Clements played a key role in several local initiatives, several of which he sees as helping the city for years to come.

For instance, after more than 20 years of effort from the La Grande community, Clements played a part in creating the Quiet Zone that prohibited train operators from blasting horns at railroad crossings in town.

“It took us five years to get it, but we dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s,” Clements said. “That’s one thing that, for me, is the biggest accomplishment of my time on the council because it’s got a lasting effect.”

Perhaps one of the largest, unexpected tasks that mayors across the country faced in the last two years is the COVID-19 pandemic. Clements looks back with confidence on the city’s efforts to keep businesses above water during a tumultuous time.

As a councilor and mayor, Clements played a part in the city’s refurbishing of Veterans’ Memorial Pool, in purchasing the land and constructing Cook Memorial Library and in creating the Urban Renewal District.

“I’m proud of all those things,” he said. “I’m proud that I can say I was a part of that.”

In terms of challenges facing La Grande moving forward, Clements cited the lack of affordable housing for renters and buyers. The mayor and council played a role in the creation of the Housing Production Strategy, with its implementation a priority going into 2022.

After Clements’ term ends at the end of 2022, the mayor has his eyes set on potential committee work as well as current nonprofits he is involved with. Clements noted that a role on the city’s planning commission could be a position of interest for him in the coming years.

“It has always been about serving and giving back to the community,” he said. “I really liked doing that as a councilor, and I have really enjoyed that last seven years as mayor.”