Councilman files candidacy for county commissioner

• Kuhle

Kuhle

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WORTHINGTON — For Alderman Mike Kuhle, it is the perfect moment to seize the opportunity at hand — to incorporate experience he’s gained from the Worthington City Council into the Nobles County Board of Commissioners.

Kuhle filed for the county commissioner seat in District 4 Tuesday, the first day of filings across the state. As of Friday, the other candidate for District 4 is incumbent Robert Demuth Jr.

“I know that piece of the puzzle — the issues of the city and county working together,” Kuhle said about why he decided to file for county commissioner. “With experience on city council, I’m hoping to foster a better working relationship among the city, county and the school district.”

Kuhle stressed the importance of the three entities collaborating effectively and efficiently to provide quality services to constituents.

“Sometimes we have the same issues,” he said. “Raising taxes is not the option. We need to keep our cost down but still give a high level of service.”

He is currently on his sixth year as a city council member. His term is set to expire in December 2014. He said if he does win this year’s elections, he will have to submit his resignation as alderman.

He admitted with a laugh his decision was slightly shocking to his fellow councilmen

“I talked to them over the last year that I was thinking about running for county commissioner,” Kuhle said.

Asked if there was a possibility of waiting until completing his city council term, Kuhle said “now is the right time.”

He said with the recent change in county administration, he can help to make a difference for Nobles County.

“We can set the parameters of our expectations for the person we hire as county administrator,” he said, adding the term “coordinator” or “administrator” is not as important to him as the person hired.

From the change in administration, he aims to foster a strong working team among county departments.

“I believe we have good department heads and we just need a good team,” he said. “They’re the ones who can really come up with efficiencies if we involve them and give them ownership.”

Additionally, Kuhle is looking forward to growing the county’s tax base through economic development.

“It’s really my passion because by bringing businesses in to town, we can help lower the tax burden of everybody,” he said.

Kuhle is currently a sales employee at Marco.

He strongly believes in civic involvement and while he’s aware his responsibilities will increase if elected as county commissioner, he knows it’s not insurmountable.

“I tend to bring a common sense approach,” he said. “If we question hard, we’ll get a better solution in the end.”

The filing deadline for county commissioner candidates is 5 p.m. June 5.

A primary election will be conducted Aug. 14 if more than two candidates file for a seat.

Daily Globe Reporter Ana Anthony may be reached at 376-7321.

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