Bloomington’s newest council member said affordable housing and infrastructure are two of his top priorities for the city.
Micheal Mosley is the new representative for Ward 2, which covers south and southwest Bloomington. Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe nominated Mosley to replace Donna Boelen, who resigned in late December.
“We have to be innovative in our thoughts, especially with what we’re planning for the streetscape project,” Mosely said. “We have to be forward-thinking. We have to look at our infrastructure before it crumbles, and we just need to make informed decisions. And I think data is the best source for that.”
Mosley, who also serves as Bloomington High School’s boys basketball coach, was appointed to the city council following unanimous approval at the outset of Monday’s meeting and was sworn in immediately. He spoke to WGLT following his initial meeting participation.
“I thought, ‘What better method to model community than demonstrating it to young people that I coach, young people that I’m involved with?’ And then I wanted to be a part of solutions as well,” he said, explaining what motivated him to seek the council opening.
Mosley said his wife, Rachael, made him aware of the council opportunity and nudged him to pursue it. He said he’s lived in Ward 2 for almost three years now, after a move from Ward 8.
“Obviously, just being engaged in some new construction and seeing my neighborhood, I just thought that this was a great opportunity to represent our community," he said.
As a first-time representative, Mosley said one of his biggest priorities is to get fully informed.
“Obviously, my views have been based on what I’ve read [and] attending these meetings myself, so it’s really just learning a lot from the staff and getting to know them, and then learning a lot from my constituents,” he said.
The new city council member said he's already taken note of some areas of interest, including "affordable homes, locations and our infrastructure."
"So I definitely want to have some type of emphasis there to learn as much as I possibly can, to make sure that our ward is informed and we can make the right decisions," he said.
In addition to his coaching duties, Mosley works in information security at State Farm. He holds doctoral degrees in computer science and decision management in organizational leadership, and he serves as vice president on the Bloomington-Normal YMCA Board of Directors.
“I just like to do things that are meaningful to me and people, and so this was kind of a no-brainer because ... I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I don’t look at it as work,” said Mosley. “My dad taught me to love God, love family, love people, and so I thought that that’s just the way I want to live.”
Mosley said he’s not concerned about taking on what some might think is an overload of responsibilities.
“One thing that I’m certain of, it’s not going to be like writing two dissertations,” he said.
Mosley said he wants to seek potential options for addressing Bloomington’s critical need for affordable housing, as well as how the city should proceed amid tough financial times.
“I think we have to look at what the strategies the city manager [Jeff Jurgens] and his staff is going to present to us, and then we’re going to have to be able to make some informed decisions,” said Mosley. “But I think the most important thing is listening to the people that are represented in each of our wards and then try to move forward from there.”
Mosley’s appointment is for two years since he's taking over someone else's term. He said he’s unsure yet if he will look to hold the Ward 2 seat beyond that.
“I don’t want to say yes or no,” he said. “I want to try to do the best that I can to represent our community, and if during that time that I’m well received and we’re being successfully heard and represented, at that point in time I would consider it.”
