Allen County voters have many of the same concerns as those elsewhere across the state, and even the country, Jim Mueller noted.
“Pretty much all I’m hearing is jobs, employment and housing,” Mueller said, “and the ambulance issue.”
Mueller, Moran, is vying for a seat on the Allen County Commission to replace the departing Dick Works. He will be opposed in Tuesday’s primary election by Jerry Daniels, Humboldt.
As far as the economy, Allen County’s governing body can do its part by remaining efficient, Mueller said, while maintaining infrastructure.
“We’ve got our new hospital, which is great for the area, and we have good, solid roads,” Mueller said. “You get out in western Kansas, and there are places where there are terrible roads.”
As for the ambulance, Mueller would prefer to see the county and city come to an amicable solution.
And with constituents in both Moran and Humboldt, any talk of a service without ambulances in those two communities is a non-starter, Mueller said.
“I’d like to think this will work itself out,” he said. “We really don’t need two services again. I just don’t see how it can work economically with two.
“There is a contract in place,” he continued, noting that current negotiations may change the terms before he takes office. “We’ll just see how it goes.”
The county, like any municipality, is charged with maintaining a solid workforce, and doing so without large increases in property tax levies, Mueller said. He pledged to do his part to continue that tradition.
“I’m sure there are a lot of things I don’t know about,” he said. “I’d have to wait and see.”
An analytical approach to governing has served Mueller well in the past. He’s been on the Moran City Council the past 13 years.
A Humboldt High School graduate, Mueller has a bachelor’s degree in resource management from Troy State University, Ala.
He’s a retired U.S. Air Force officer, having served in the military for 26 years. After that, he worked as a maintenance technician at Haldex Brake in Iola before becoming a licensed insurance agent for more than 15 years at Personal Service Insurance in Moran.
“Get out and vote,” Mueller urged his prospective constituents. “Too often we sit back and judge without taking part.”
Mueller touts work with Moran Council
