RAINIER, Rainier City Councilor Mike Kreger resigned from the council Thursday evening, announcing the decision in a short video he recorded at Hometown Pizza shortly after 5 p.m., the same day he posted a written statement withdrawing claims that he had served as a Navy SEAL and received a Purple Heart.
Kreger, accompanied by his wife, recorded the statement inside the restaurant while a Tribune reporter was there as a customer. In it, he said he was stepping down from the council over the allegations about his military record and apologized to the community.
His name will remain on the Nov. 3 ballot for mayor. Ballots were mailed Oct. 14, past the point when a candidate can be removed, so voters will still see Kreger alongside Vanessa Meza and Garye Twichell for the two-year mayoral term.
In a written statement posted to his campaign’s social media page earlier Thursday, Kreger wrote: “I made claims about being a Navy SEAL and receiving a Purple Heart that I cannot substantiate. I withdrew those claims and apologized, and I remain deeply sorry.”
“I know these honors represent extraordinary service and sacrifice,” he wrote. “I understand why people are upset, especially those who have earned those distinctions and the families who understand what they mean.”
Kreger wrote that his years of community service “doesn’t erase my mistake or take away anyone’s right to question me,” and asked that people “remember there are human beings on every side of this conversation.” The statement closed with a warning that “bullying, personal harassment, and threats will not be tolerated on our campaign’s social media pages.”
Kreger held Position 6 on the seven-member council, a term that ran through Dec. 31, 2028, according to the city’s council roster. His bio on the city website describes him as a native Oregonian raised in Odell and Portland who moved to the area in 1997.
Under Section 25 of the Rainier city charter, a resignation creates a vacancy, and under Section 26 the remaining councilors fill it by majority vote, with the appointee serving through the end of the term. The council used that process a year ago: after a Position 4 vacancy in September 2025, the city took applications for two weeks and appointed Charleen Ratkie at its Oct. 6, 2025 meeting, according to city notices.
The mayoral seat is open because Mayor Jerry Cole won the Columbia County Commissioner Position 2 race outright in the May primary with 52.37 percent of the vote, according to the county’s certified results. Cole takes that office in January.