Thornton was nominated Saturday at the Kerry Vickar Centre.
“As an educator and as a dad, building better schools and a brighter future is important to me, “ says Thornton. “I believe in Cam Broten’s vision: it can’t just be about the province doing well, it has to be about people doing well.
“Cam is focused on the things that really matter to families, from better schools for our kids to better care for our parents and grandparents.”
Thornton has been a teacher at the Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate for 10 years. He is heavily involved in the athletics program at the school, serving as a basketball coach and a football official.
Most importantly, Thornton is a husband and father. His wife Natasha is also a teacher in Melfort, and together they have three children all under the age of 10; daughters Brynn and Afton, and son Niall.
Thornton was raised on a family farm south of Dafoe. He went to school in Kandahar and Wynyard before earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Saskatchewan, and a Bachelor of Education in business and math at the University of Regina.
In addition to coaching his daughters’ soccer team and umpiring minor baseball in Melfort, Thornton was selected by his fellow teachers to be a member of the local teachers association executive and a councillor for the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.