After more than two decades of public service, including serving as a U.S. Marine and Owensboro Police Department officer, Chris Castlen is excited for his first role in politics as West Daviess County Commissioner.
When Castlen was sworn into office in December, he said it reminded him of his previous oaths to serve.
“It, even more, solidifies to me the importance and the relevance of what we do as commissioners and as elected officials and how it affects our community,” he said.
Castlen has high hopes for what the new Fiscal Court can accomplish, as he knows each commissioner is looking to make the community a better place and keep progressing on the projects already started by the former court.
One of the Castlen’s primary focuses is to represent local first responders, who he said are behind in compensation.
“I want to help increase pay for the Sheriff’s deputies,” he said, nothing that while salaries have “gone up 12%, (that) is still behind what their peers earn at the police department.”
To offset the cost, Castlen plans to look at potentially getting better insurance for the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office.
Focusing on those issues, he thinks, will better help Owensboro-Daviess County first responders in their hiring and retention efforts.
Castlen said he has been looking into other projects but opted not to share any details at this time.
However, he spoke generally about being eager to enter his new political role. He said Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen will be a good mentor and looks forward to that partnership.
“He’s had the experience and he would be a good person to call on as a mentor for questions and guidance with things, and I see that even if he was not my uncle,” he said.
Castlen began his career as deputy jailer with the Daviess County Detention Center before joining OPD, where he retired in 2017. Following his retirement, Castlen began a second career at Owensboro Health in human resources.
Castlen noted that he is excited to now be serving the community directly again, so much so that he said he is temporarily stepping away from his full-time position at the hospital to dedicate time to his elected position.
“I’m taking a leave from my current job for about five weeks, so I can get climatized to the position I’m taking on,” he said.
When he won his primary, beating out incumbent George Wathen, Castlen said he was ready to be a voice for the people.
“I plan to do what the citizens have elected me to do,” he said at the time. “Listen to their concerns and do what I can to help bring change.”
