2019 Elections Guide: Michael Mueller, Tinley Trustee

TINLEY PARK, IL — Patch asked all candidates running for elected office in the April 2, 2019 municipal elections to participate in our voters guide. All submissions are voluntary. Those whose names are not listed chose not to respond or did not respond to requests for information. Responses are edited for style or space only.

Get to know your candidates:

Name: Michael Mueller

Age: 39

Position sought: Tinley Park Trustee – Full Time

Party affiliation: One Tinley Park - Non-partisan race

Family: Wife – Tracy – Also a Loyola Chicago Graduate

Son – Luke (9) – 4th grade at Dr. Julian Rogus School – Summit Hill 161
Son – Miles (7) – 2rd grade at Dr. Julian Rogus School – Summit Hill 161

Education: Loyola University Chicago - Bachelor's Degree in Economics
Loyola University Chicago - Master's Degree in Information Technology

Occupation: Software Development - Principal Software Architect
18 years of software development experience

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Offices: NA

Campaign Website: http://www.onetinleypark.com

Names and offices of all family members who work in politics or government: NA

The most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and what I intend to do about it: The sustainable development of key areas of our Village is the most pressing issue we face as a Village. In the downtown area and on Harlem Avenue, we have buildings and lots that are abandoned that we need to find tenants for. This starts with ensuring that our building codes ensure the safety of the buildings, without putting undue strain on current and prospective occupants. The Tinley Park Mental Health Center requires a full cleanup, diligence with developers, and creativity to utilize this property.

The new businesses within these key areas of our Village will become the economic impetus for the other Village initiatives, so it is essential that we get it right.

What are the key differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? I have several characteristics that differentiate me as a candidate for Tinley Park Trustee.

I am a strong technologist that can envision solutions to problems and have proven the implementation of that vision professionally. The technology problems that face the village are real and are complicated with privacy concerns, but can be solved pragmatically with real gains to the community as a whole. Some of the significant benefits I envision are increased data availability, more efficient staff, and higher reliability across all services.

I am a proven leader with oversight of 20+ teams located on three continents. I work closely with each ensuring we are all working in the same direction, and each is contributing to the success of the project. Within the Village, I see similar challenges. Working with residents, local businesses, neighboring communities, and the state legislature across the various projects is where I can apply this proven leadership.

Explain your attitudes toward fiscal policy, government spending and how taxpayer dollars should be handled by your office (or board): Making fiscally responsible decisions is the first and most important step towards the Village board earning the trust of the residents of Tinley Park. Every decision made by the Village board will have Fiscal implications, and it is important to remember that. My strong education in Economics from Loyola University Chicago provides me the toolset to evaluate these decisions maximize fiscal gain while minimizing any potential risks.

In what way have current officeholders of the position you're running for failed the community? How would you do better? At village meetings, on social media, and when I speak to residents in person, there is an underlying lack of trust with the leadership on our Village Board. This has built over time as our public officials have placed Tinley Park in the media with negative stories and questionable decision making. I plan to leverage the same integrity and honesty that I use in my personal and professional life to restore the trust in Tinley Park's elected officials. In the past, I have hosted town hall meetings that encourage real and honest dialog and plan to continue that once elected to represent this village.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform: I believe I can increase citizen accessibility to, and understanding of, local government operations by providing information and services to the public online. This will be achieved by ensuring critical data is available online in accessible and usable formats. Leveraging my professional experiences, I will help set the direction to build a “Best in Class” public data warehouse that provides searchable public information and helps Village employees and the public find valuable insight and information by connecting disparate data.

If you win this position, how would you define your term in office as a success?

Ultimately the success of my term in office will be measured by the future of Tinley Park, but while in office there are several lead indicators that I will personally use to determine my success.
• Open and clear dialog between the Village board and Village staff
• Timely responses to resident’s questions and concerns
• An engaged prospective and current businesses invested in Tinley Park

Please share with voters a story about wisdom gained from a mistake you made in your life or career: Early in my career I was consumed with the desire to make sure a job was done and done right and I believed I was the one who had to be involved in every aspect of the job. For my line of work that included writing, testing and delivering code in my case. All of this to ensure the success of feature enhancements in front of me for the project. I found that this is actually unsustainable, and did not bring the rest of my team into the overall success of the project. In addition, this behavior had negative aspects on both the social and family portions of my life. When I learned to engaged with others, collaborate around approach and trust that my peers had the same level of commitment I found that I was able to focus on what I do best, and others became more invested in the outcome. All while I had time to focus on things outside of work. I now attribute the success on many subsequent projects to a new focus on collaborative work with an empowered and accountable team.

Why should voters trust you? I believe that voters can look at my professional career and find confidence and trust in me. I will bring from my professional career a very strong work ethic, an inability to settle for second best, and a strong sense of self accountability.

Personally, my wife and I moved here 10 years ago and immediately fell in love with this community. We have deep ties and no intention of leaving. I simply want one thing out of this office, what is best for Tinley Park.

Which accomplishments do you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

• Principal Software Architect at Fortune 500 company
• Lead a software program that has 20+ multinational teams solving complex business problems for our clients
• Lead the United Against Brookside Glen Apartments community group
• Coach for my children’s youth baseball teams

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I hope that you’ll find my passion and enthusiasm can bring a renewed energy to Village Hall and the entire Tinley Park community. I truly believe in this great slate of One Tinley Park, and am proud to be partnered with Bill Brennan, Diane Galante.