Former Whitley football coach first to file for top political post

Former Whitley County Football Coach Mike Campbell became the first candidate Tuesday afternoon to file in the race for Whitley County Judge-Executive.
“I think the timing is right. I have always believed in Whitley County. I think we have a strong county. I think we have hit some bad times, and I think we do have a future ahead of us out here in Whitley County, but it is going to take some time. It is going to take some time to get this county back where it needs to be,” Campbell said. “We have to fix the infrastructure of Whitley County.”
Campbell, 41, is a Williamsburg High School graduate, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cumberland College, and his Rank One from Union College.
Campbell has been an educator in the Whitley County school system for 17 years, and recently resigned as head football coach with the winningest record in the school’s history.
“As an educator and a businessman for the past 17 years, I have had to manage budgets, hire and supervise personnel and deal with the public on a daily basis. As a former football coach, I have had the opportunity to take bad situations and turn them around. I have not only tried to lead young men, but I have attempted to turn young men into leaders,” Campbell said.
“Now I believe that I can better serve the citizens of our county in another capacity as your next Whitley County Judge-Executive.”
Campbell said the only way to get the county out of the financial hole where it currently sits is to balance the budget.
“You just can’t keep on doing the things that we have been doing, and then raising taxes and things like that. At some point you have got to get a budget, and stay with that budget until the point where it starts turning around. It will take time. It is something that won’t happen over night,” Campbell said.
In terms of the payroll tax, Campbell said the biggest thing that needs to be looked at is the situation that forced the county into a payroll tax.
“It comes back to looking at the total infrastructure of the entire county. Now what got us in this position so we have this tax?” he noted.