After receiving encouragement from many residents of Vanderburgh County, I have decided to run for the office of Vanderburgh County Commissioner because I believe our community needs and deserves an experienced leader they can depend on to lead us into the future.
There are three major reasons I believe this:
First, we need leaders that are more in tune with the people, who will listen to their concerns and be open and honest with them while not making decisions behind closed doors. This was very apparent when two of the three commissioners came out in favor of the reorganization plan of government but two out of three citizens were against it.
Second, we need a fiscally responsible conservative fiscal leader for the future. We will be challenged in the near future with providing essential services with limited funds. It will require new ideas and out of the box thinking to provide these services in a more efficient manner. My career in the private sector was spent working to continuously improve processes and I believe I can bring this practical problem solving ability to local government.
Third, it is critical that we develop a sustainable long range plan for the county. The economy is beginning to turn around and that will mean private industry will be ready to invest money in new ventures. We need to partner with our local developers and private industries to provide essential services to take advantage of these opportunities. We need to plan for growth and not reacting to it after the fact and we need to keep the best interest of the people in mind as we go forward.
After talking with family and friends and carefully consideration of the commitment this will require, I have decided to file for the commissioners office.
Bruce Ungenthiem
Mr. Ungenthiem’s Qualifications
Bruce was born in Vanderburgh County 1955 and grew up in the Darmstadt area. He graduated from Scott elementary school in 1969 and Central High School in 1973. It was at Central high school where he got his first taste of public service while working for the late David Koehler on his city council campaign. Bruce applied and was accepted into Rose Hulman Institute of Technology and in 1977 graduated with a BS degree in Mechanical engineering and a minor in political Science.
Upon graduation, Bruce accepted a job offer from Mead Johnson as an engineer and returned to Vanderburgh County. He worked for Mead Johnson in various capacities over the next 33 years including, Project Engineer, Automation Manager, Latin American Regional Technical Manager, and North American Regional Technical Manager. During that time he managed many multimillion dollar projects and even larger capital budgets for Mead Johnson. As a result of these duties he has traveled and worked in several foreign counties including Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, China, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia. Bruce retired from Mead Johnson in 2010 at the age of 55 to pursue other interests.
The same year he started with Mead Johnson he married his hometown sweetheart, Debbie, and they have been married for 36 years. They have two grown children, Jeremy and Derek who both reside in Vanderburgh County and six grand children ranging from age 8 to 11 months. Bruce and Debbie now enjoy being grandparents and spending time with the grandchildren.
Bruce continued his interest in public service when he returned to Vanderburgh County after graduating college. He joined the Scott Township Volunteer fire department where he served for over five years as a second class fireman and a certified EMT. Once his children got old enough, he gave up the fire department to serve as coach, organizer, commissioner and whatever else was needed to various athletic organizations as the two boys grew up. He was one of the founders of MOYBA (McCutchanville Oak Hill Youth Basketball Association) and Central Junior Basketball Association. He also served as the President of the Scott Township Youth Baseball program for 7 years. When the boys reached high school age, Bruce supported the athletic programs they were involved in at Central High School.
In 1996, commercial development came to his neighborhood in the form of a grain milling plant and there were many odor issues as a result. Bruce organized a group of concerned citizens and persuaded the owner of the milling plant and local county officials to fix the problem by spending several million dollars in improvements to their waste handling system to eliminate the odor issue. Shortly thereafter, Bruce ran in the Republican primary for County Council 2nd district against a 25 year incumbent. Although he did not win, the experience taught him a lot about local government.
In 2008, talks began to surface about another attempt to consolidate local government and Bruce became involved. After attending several meetings and realizing that local citizen input was not being listened to, Bruce decided to form a committee to change the plan. The original committee was called We The People and its mission was to change the plan so that it would be acceptable to all county residents. This attempt was not successful and the plan went forward to the ballot with few changes. Because the plan was not acceptable to many, Bruce and a group of concerned citizens then formed CORE (Citizens opposed to Reorganization in Evansville were Bruce served as Co Chairman and spokesperson. They worked diligently in a grass roots effort to inform people about the details of the plan and why it was not good for the county. Despite being outspent by a 4 to 1 margin, the question on the ballot was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin. Once this was accomplished, Bruce lead the same group of people to the Statehouse to change the reorganization laws so that in the future any reorganization plans will have to satisfy all areas of the county. This CORE organization is still active and working on other issues of local interest.
Now with the experiences he has had, Bruce has decided to again volunteer for public service again by filing for County Commissioner Second district. Bruce will use his many experiences in industry and the public sector to provide leadership in the community that is in tune with the public and a willingness to listen.
STATEHOUSE – State Representative Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville) was sworn in today by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Massa to serve House District 78. She will fulfill the remaining term of former State Rep. Suzanne Crouch who resigned from her seat earlier this month to serve as the new Indiana Auditor of State.
