BJ Woehler for Mayor of Wayne, NE


BJ Woehler family

my name is BJ Woehler.

I was born and raised in Wayne by a great family, friends, and community.

Growing up in Wayne gave me the basic foundation and support to study architecture at WSC/UNL, study abroad and work in Chicago before returning home to help run and expand our family business'. My wife Kari and I started to build our family first with her own business, then built our own home and added a family of Bodey and Kolbey and our special lab Sadey.


Lifelong Leader across a wide range of Organization and Public Service

In College I was involved in several student organizations and Honor Society. Upon returning to Wayne, I have been in the following, Wayne Area Ducks Unlimited (Re-Founding member & past Treasure), Wayne Sons of American Legion (member & Past Officer), Wayne Masonic Lodge (member & past Chaplin), Wayne Izaak Walton Lake, Northeast Nebraska Investor (past President) and a Lifelong member of Our Savior Lutheran Church until marring into Grace Lutheran Church.

Currently I am serving as immediate past president of NUCA of Nebraska and serving as a contractor representative on the NE 811 board. Locally I am currently president of WAEDI business and industry committee and on the Wayne Public School Community Facility Committee I have enjoyed working with several community groups to get such things as a new pool, find a reuse for the old pool area and currently serve on the problem resolution team of Wayne.

All of this and years of working with/around the city and attending hundreds of council meetings has led to my desire to run for mayor. I have seen things run several different ways, some good some bad, but recently I have seen government go beyond the basics and quit listening to the people. I plan to change that if you give me that opportunity.

I want to get to the heart of why I am running, I believe in limited government that listens to the people and not manipulate markets or ignore other stakeholders. The city has gone too far, and I plan to change that if you give me the chance.

First off, I want to get back to the basics by listening to the voters. This will start by using the actual Mayors office in City Hall and setting office hours for the public to stop in. I plan to hold more ward meetings, town halls and get better virtual meeting options with increased fairness, truth and transparency.

Speaking of City Hall, it's time to quit wasting time and money and make a decision. But now they are looking at buying prime real estate on Main St. Wasn't that the reason to buy Riley's? Lack of direction and follow-through will cost us millions!

The current City Hall does need some upgrades, but it is in a great location and large enough. Renovations have already been done in many of the offices. Cost is always an issue with an old building but are we sure we want to start over again?

Next, I ask for your support to FLUSH the "Stool To Cool" Concept for the old Lagoon area. This was done in closed meetings with very little if any community input or data. It is an unoriginal concept that will do nothing but bring debt; not people to our community with things we already have. If elected I will move to have this start over and be a community lead effort to get a real gem that puts Wayne American on the map for more than a water tower.

Now let's talk trash, did you know that the majority of trash/recycling bins have been removed from town and they refuse to put them and pet stations on the trail? This is a basic sanitation need that the government should be doing. Recycling is a great additional step we have added but now we need to make it 24/7.

I also see electricity is finally back on the agenda after costly delays and failed alternatives. This needs to be left to the experts and figure out how to get the best deal for what we have and get back with NPPD.

We have a great city staff of dedicated employees that care about our community. They are truly vital to our community, yes, we need to replace the aging water and sewer lines below our streets. I will work to improve all that and find a way to get an indoor pool.

Dispatch needs to stay local so locals can help locals and keep jobs in Wayne. The Wayne PD needs our full support to protect our community and have better options to deal with humanitarian issues. The problem resolution team was a good start, but I have found it was using a heavy hand and turns neighbor against neighbor; we must find a better way!

Lastly, housing is the current crisis that this government seems to think they need to solve by manipulating the market when it was them that caused it. Their constant changing of rules and support or lack thereof for developers and builders has gotten us here and picking winners and losers is not their job. We need to come up with clear consistent polices that allow all of them to do what they do best and let's get back to making Wayne Work!

I have enjoyed listening/talking to many of you during this campaign and look forward to continuing hearing your vision for Wayne's future, It's our community let's do this together!

Be sure to Vote Tuesday November 8th!

Thanks,
Bj Woehler