Last November he decided to get into the thick of it when he got the bug to run for public office after learning of a plan in the works for a new multi-millionaire dollar building for the Calumet County High--way Department. He dubbed it the Taj Mahal and started talking to people about what he perceived as another government boondoogle perpetrated on the people.

"I started talking to people. I got on my bicycle and talked to people. I belong to a health club, and I talked to people there. What I found, most people didn't have any knowledge of this thing, and when they hear about it, they don't want to spend that money," Mueller said.

Mueller decided there was only one thing to do – he ran for county board supervisor in District 9 (Town of Harrison, Wards 1 and 3; Town of Woodville, Ward 2; Village of Sherwood, Wards 3-8). In the April general election he beat incumbent supervisor Jim Lehrer 105 to 95.

So he wasn't too happy to return from a 24-day vacation on July 26 to learn that in his absence the county board decided to reintroduce a resolution that had been turned down at the June 15 meeting. Not only that, but the board passed the resolution in a 12-6 vote, releasing up to $350,000 for the architectural design of a new highway building.

"I've been fighting this since December. It's laughable," Mueller said. "The constituents are against this. All nine town chairmen spoke at the June meeting and all we're against it. I think they're playing dirty pool here."

Mueller was one of three supervisors absent from the important July 20 vote. All three just happened to have opposed the plan to build a new highway facility in the Town of Chilton for various reasons, but largely because of the 18 cents per $1,000 valuation that they and there constituents will have to pay in added taxes for the new building. All three had very good excuses for missing the meeting.

"My wife and I planned this vacation last year," Mueller said. "She's a teacher. I work in a mill. You've got to take it when you can."

Pat Laughrin, representing District 11 (Town of Woodville, Ward 1; Town of Brillion, Ward 2; Town of Chilton, Ward 2; Village of Hilbert, Ward 3) was in the hospital during the July 20 meeting.

"I was taking some medication, and I've got Parkinson's disease and they added another medication to that. It wasn't compatible. Shut my kidneys down. I'm lucky I'm around," Laughrin said on July 26, shortly after being released from the hospital.

"I don't think there should even be a vote," Laughrin said. "I don't think our county should be trying to take 20 to 25 acres of agricultural land. We can put that building together in good working condition and satisfy everyone."

Alice Connors, County Board Vice Chair and District 17 supervisor (City of Chilton, Wards 1 and 2), has missed only three county board meetings in her 29 years on the board.

"Two were due to a death in the family," she said.

The third was on July 20. She was representing Wisconsin as president of the Wisconsin Counties Association, a post she holds until September, at the National Association of Counties meeting in Reno.

"That's why I was so torn. Did I have to go? The mayor wanted me to stay here. I tried to do everything I could to make my presence here, but I just couldn't do it," Connors said. "I wanted to attend the meeting via technology, Skype or some other type of technology that I could have done from Reno, but I wasn't allowed to because it wasn't in our rules. I also attempted to have the meeting postponed until the 27th, which I also could not do because, according to our rules it falls on a specific date. I tried even though I couldn't be there, and I feel very, very bad that I have let my constituents down."

Though she was absent, District 1 Supervisor Joel Taylor (City of Appleton, Ward 40) felt her position was well enough known to state it for her at the July 20 meeting.

"Unless we can guarantee that it is built or remodeled in Chilton, I can tell you exactly how Alice is going to vote," Taylor said at the meeting.

"I'm upset that some other supervisor would talk for someone who wasn't there, unless he were given permission, and he certainly wasn't given permission," Connors said. "The other thing is, I'm very upset that they did not postpone the vote on this question because it is so very important. It's a big price tag. I think we should have had the full county board there."

Several supervisors at the meeting felt the same way and eloquently spoke for full representation on this issue when a motion was made to postpone the vote until the August board meeting.

"The controversy surrounding this and the absence of 14% of our supervisors, it's in the best interest of us as county board supervisors and our constituents to postpone this until we have the numbers back," District 15 Supervisor (Town of Stockbridge,Ward 1 and 2; Village of Stockbridge) Tom Laughrin said at the meeting.

The vote to postpone lost 7-11.

Tom Laughrin then introduced an amendment to use the $350,000 for a new highway maintenance and office building next to the present highway building in Chilton. He believes building at the current location would cost $3 million, or less than half of the $7.9 million proposed for the Town of Chilton site.

His amendment was voted down 10-8.

"It lost by two votes," Connors said. "I have fought for a separate freestanding maintenance and office complex building since this thing stated, because that's where out needs are. They are not for a full complex to be built out in the Town of Chilton. We're duplicating everything we have here out in the Town of Chilton, which they think is more centrally located. If the three of us had been there, it would have passed. As important as this was, they should have postponed the vote. What's the hurry?"
Tom Laughrin believes it's not too late.

"I really want the citizenry to get involved," he said. "We can certainly do something to the design and get it back to the present site."

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