Washington Mayor Gary Manier is pictured in his City Hall office on Feb. 6. Manier is retiring in May after 24 years in office. (Photo by Tim Alexander/for Chronicle Media)

In 2001, when Gary Manier was first elected as mayor of Washington, the city was home to 10,400 residents, Lindy’s Market on the town square sold fresh eggs for 93 cents per dozen and the average price of gasoline was around $1.45 per gallon at Tom Brecklin’s service station.

On the national level, George W. Bush was sworn in as 43rd president of the United States, and, on Sept. 11, a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, launching the Global War of Terror.

2001 was also the year that the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a lawsuit against Washington Community High School over school-sanctioned prayers at graduation ceremonies. The new, part-time mayor of Washington, who had launched a personal campaign to preserve the students’ right to prayer, found himself thrust into the national spotlight after major media outlets swooped into town to cover the story.

It would be the first time Manier faced national media pressure and scrutiny, but certainly not the last; a deadly, E-4 force tornado that wiped out more than 1,100 structures and claimed several lives would bring the media back to the city in November 2013. During the town’s recovery process, Manier was recognized by reporters for his calm demeanor, steady work ethic and his ability to work government channels to assist residents who lost homes and businesses after the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to provide aid.

Manier, 70, will retire after a 24-year run as Washington mayor, following the April 1 election, which will see two city council members — Lily Stevens and Mike Brownfield — vie for the position.

While he is proud of the work he did for the community in 2001 and following the 2013 tornado, Manier also wishes to be remembered for other achievements, including growing the city to its current population of nearly 17,000, while fostering new business opportunities and expanding its tax base.

A Washington native, Manier attended grade school at District 50 and graduated from WaCoHi in 1972, playing basketball and baseball for coaches Chuck Westendorf and Chuck Buescher, respectively. Following high school, Manier attended Illinois Central College before embarking on a 42-year career with Caterpillar, Inc., where he turned down three offers to relocate at a higher base salary to remain in Washington, where he and his wife, Lada, raised a son and a daughter.

“The third time was the kiss of death, and I never got another offer to move. It probably affected my career some, but I wouldn’t do anything any differently,” Manier said. “Washington is the greatest place on earth, and I never left. There’s no place better to raise a family.”

Manier got his first taste of politics as a member of the high school board for around eight years. He also worked his way up the hierarchy of Sunnyland Christian Church, where he is a lifelong member, serving in various leadership capacities, including chairman of the board. These experiences helped prepare Manier for the next nearly quarter-century of his life as mayor of Washington, which began after he defeated four other candidates competing for the spot in April 2001.

“My first month in office was all about school and prayer,” recalled Manier, who began his first term as mayor the following month. “Then came 9/11. We became worried about our water system and began putting fences around all of our water towers and facilities. We went ahead and did most of that ourselves and didn’t wait for grants, using cash on hand rather than waiting for a grant. As a town named ‘Washington,’ we were placed on high alert.”

Aside from the calamities of 2001, Manier spent much of his first year in office learning the inner workings of municipal government after becoming accustomed to school board procedure and corporate protocol. “One day you’re concerned with helping someone’s student to reach their full potential in school, and the next you’re worrying about someone with raw sewage in their basement, you’re worried about potholes and streets. I ruined a lot of pairs of shoes in those first couple of years,” he said.

Among Manier’s proudest achievements is the development of the Five Points Washington Community Center, which opened in 2007 and features a 1,020-seat performance arts theater, fitness center and aquatic center.

“I think our population would probably be a little bit less without (Five Points). When people look to move here, they are looking at schools first, but they are also looking at amenities such as Five Points. I think it’s helped us attract residents,” said Manier of the facility, which was projected to cost around $17.5 million, but came in at a cost of $21.5 million.

From 2005-2007 Washington experienced a population boom, with 309 homes constructed during 2005 alone. This taxed the city’s sewer system, which led to an expenditure of more than $16 million to expand the system. Some of the money was covered by a state grant Manier and the city was able to secure.

The tornado of Nov. 17, 2013, brought national news media to Washington, with Manier serving as the city’s spokesperson as well as its liaison to national and state disaster aid sources. When Federal Emergency Management Agency funds failed to arrive, Manier reached out directly to then-Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn for help. Through the state legislature, Quinn was able to deliver $14.9 million in emergency disaster aid to the city of Washington.

“Gary led it all. He was a great mayor helping people in the time of their need,” said Quinn, who is now practicing law in Chicago and active in several urban nonprofit organizations, when reached by Chronicle Media. “In the following year we had numerous connections and contacts. In 2014 I came down to sign some legislation and the recovery had been amazing, with debris removed and new houses and commercial buildings having been built. I was very impressed with Gary’s leadership from beginning to end; he’s what you would want in a mayor.”

Quinn added that as he watched coverage of the California wildfires on television, he was impressed with the thought that Los Angeles could likely benefit from a mayor such as Manier who can work in bipartisan fashion to marshal the resources necessary to rebuild.

Manier said he has few regrets about his time in office, but does wish he could have done more to  help keep state-level property taxes down for the city’s school districts.

“Unfortunately, some people have to move out of the region or get a lesser house in order to afford to live here. To look back, I wish we could’ve tackled that problem with our senators and state reps long before it got to this point,” said Manier, who intends to spend more quality time with his family, which, in addition to Lada, consists of a son, a daughter and seven grandchildren, ranging in age from 5 to 21.

After Manier’s last day in office, which is May 5, he will embark on a brief vacation with Lada to Nashville, Tennessee and Destin, Florida, and “then come back and enjoy the grandkids.” When he walks away from his 24 years of leading the city as mayor, Manier doesn’t expect to be involved much with local politics.

“When I’m gone, I’m gone,” he said. “You can’t look back.”