Will Mounts has announced his candidacy for Daviess County Judge-Executive and plans to tackle issues of sustainability, safety, and growth if elected next year.
Focusing on growth, Mounts hopes to bring a jobs-first entrepreneurial approach using existing assets to make Daviess County an advanced and modern manufacturing hub.
Going further, he is setting out to ensure that public safety and quality are prioritized by equipping responders with the funds needed to protect and serve the community.
“We need leadership, not management in Daviess County,” Mounts said. “Managers spend all their time focused on racing up the ladder as fast as they can while saying, ‘Look at what I’ve done.’ But leaders, we make sure that the ladder is propped up against the right wall.”
Mounts, a native of Cynthiana, Indiana, moved to Owensboro in 2007 to work at OMICO Plastics, Inc., where he has served as the Vice President since May of 2008.
With his experience serving as Vice President, he notes that he learned that “the county is essentially a big business.” Should he win the election, Mounts wants to bring that mindset to the seat.
“Our shareholders as a commission board or a Judge-Executive — which is like a CEO — is to serve our citizens,” Mounts said. “Are we doing what’s in the best interest with the funds that we receive? Yes or no? Are our citizens getting the return on investment that they expect? It’s no different than me running my business.”
While he doesn’t have experience on the county’s Fiscal Court, Mounts said some of his involvement throughout the community is a strength.
Since moving to Owensboro, Mounts has served as an Owensboro Community & Technical College board member since 2017; Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation board member since 2015; GO Fame Board founding member, president from 2015-17, and later treasurer until 2018; among others.
His time with GO Fame allowed Mounts to get plugged into the community and create numerous partnerships with different organizations to help increase the workforce and attract talent to the community.
Mounts hopes to ensure the three pillars of his platform are met, as he thinks each is important not only to the betterment of the county but to each person. By focusing on those three pillars, he said, it will help fix the remaining issues within the community.
“What are the three things that we could do that we’ll fix the rest of the other 100 [issues in our community]?” he said. “You have to start with a good foundation, just as building a house.”
