Vander Molen Eyes Seat On Board Of Supervisors

Mike Vander Molen for Mahaska County Supervisor

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The June 5 primary continues to loom in the minds of the 5 candidates seeking the one seat on the county board of supervisors currently held by Willie VanWeelden.

Mike Vander Molen (R) has been part of local politics since his return to the area back in 2008. He and his wife moved to their family farm that his grandfather purchased in the 40’s. Their farm is located near the Taintor area. He and his wife saw an opportunity to keep up the family heritage upon their return to Iowa from St. Louis. “We’re glad to be back. Most of our family and friends are here. We just sort of like the pace of life a lot better here.” Saying he and his wife enjoy the values of Mahaska County versus “the big city so to speak”.

Vander Molen is a relatively new father. He and his wife have a son that is approximately 20 months of age. “It’s been new for us, but it’s been quite a blessing.”

Vander Molen attended the University of Iowa attaining his law degree from there, then became and chemical engineer and undergrad at Iowa State.

After college Vander Molen moved to St. Louis and worked for a law firm there, of which he is still currently associated with, where he focused on patents. There he helped companies claim their patents on products; from large companies down to individual inventors.

Vander Molen said there are 3 reason that inspired him to run for the county supervisor position.

“One is property taxes. I’m always concerned about our tax levies and where they’re at. I know assessments have been going up on homes a lot, that really impacts a lot of people. So it’s important to keep tax levies as low as possible.”

“Two, I live out in the country. I have a lot of exposure to our rural roads and our secondary roads. It’s important that we maintain those as much as we can with the funds we have.”

“Third. Oversight. I’m a very hands-on person and I think I’d be a hands-on person as supervisor. But I really want to get into the day-to-day business of the county, with the county employees and the union and exercise some oversight there and sort of get into the thick of it so to speak.”

Mike Vander Molen

Vander Molen said that the biggest issues that got his attention was spending and property taxes. “It’s important to spend for our needs and not for our wants necessarily. I know the current board is/has been working on that. They’ve had disagreements in the past as to what we should spend, but that’s really one of the reasons I got involved.”

With the county board of supervisors suffering from a black eye of sorts in public opinion, Vander Molen says that communication is important. “I tend to be very open with people, very honest with people. If I have an issue with how something is being handled I’ll just discuss it with the person rather then let if fester and grow. I think the supervisors need to be honest with each other and they need to be open with each other and they need to communicate more. I think that’s one of the values I have. I give a new perspective, a fresh view.”

One of the best things Vander Molen sees with Mahaska County is the people and their values. “If you look at the population trends in counties of our size, a lot of them are losing population, especially in southern Iowa.” Vander Molen says that the population of the more rural communities is moving towards urban areas like Des Moines and even out of state. “But Mahaska County’s fared fairly well because I think we have good sensibility here. I think we are really improving the area and we need to continue to strive to do that.”

“As long as we have young people moving in, and we don’t become stale in what we do, I think we can move forward and become successful,” Vander Molen said about making the Mahaska Community a vibrant place for people to move to and live in.”

Regionalization is a catch phrase, and most communities are finding that working with, versus competing against, your neighbor helps everyone grow and prosper in the new global economy.

“I definitely think we need to work with our partners in the area.” Vander Molen said, pointing towards recent cooperative efforts with Marion County and other SE Iowa associations. “We also need to speak up for Mahaska County’s interest and we need to be vocal about what Mahaska County needs when we work with these other entities.”

“But we do need to continue to move forward and to be strategic in where we’re going for the next 10 years, 20 years, the next 50 years.”