Commission chairman faces challenger
Staff writer
Republican Mike Beneke and unaffiliated incumbent David Mueller are competing for the District 2 seat on the county commission.
The district includes most northern townships and the north half of Marion.
Beneke, a Lincolnville resident, is making his third run.
“I can’t stand how they operate,” he said.
He wants the commission to be more open with residents and businesses than it has been with him.
Mueller contends the commission is open.
“I’m open to any ideas,” he said. “Bring me an idea, and I’m open to it. We have public forum. We now have an administrator who does a weekly update of what’s going on in the county. Bring me an idea how to be more open.”
Four years ago, the pair faced off against each other. Beneke said he was disappointed that Mueller didn’t seem to value his opinions after that election.
“That hasn’t happened at all,” Beneke said.
Mueller said it was important to bring respect back to commission meetings.
“When I ran originally, it was to bring respect back to the commission room — respect for commissioners, employees, and the citizens,” Mueller said. “If I’m re-elected a second — and it would be my final — term, I would continue that.”
Beneke wants to see more efficiency in every county department. He doesn’t want to promise specific changes because he doesn’t know the numbers, but he wants the county to get “the most bang for the buck.”
As a businessman, he knows prices of supplies have gone up. That’s why he wants to see more efficiency.
Beneke is especially critical of the road and bridge department, which he called “totally inept.”
“It has unacceptable standards,” Beneke said. “The sad thing is, it will take a lot more money to fix it.”
Mueller disagrees.
“We have done more road improvements in the past four years than in the past 12 years,” Mueller said.
He said the county created more efficiency by hiring an administrator.
“We have an administrator focused strictly on departments and budgets,” Mueller said. “One of her first actions was, when we got our increased health insurance rates, she recommended we go to a self-insured plan.”
Beneke thinks $1.6 million allotted to build a new health department could have been used to build a new ambulance building in Peabody as well.
Mueller said a new ambulance station in Peabody already was on next year’s plan.
Mueller said his time on the commission had been positive for him and the county.
“I’ve been on a lot of boards and I think it’s critical that someone serving on a commission has experience serving on a board,” Mueller said. “The key part of being on a board is being able to take information and work with other members.”
Mueller said his main successes in four years on the commission were bringing respect back, hiring an administrator, and finding good department heads.
“We have some really, really excellent people,” Mueller said.
No matter which way people vote, Beneke said, it’s important that they do vote.
“Everybody needs to get out and vote for somebody,” Beneke said. “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”
Mueller said both candidates were passionate about the community.