Editor’s note: The general election for school district offices is Tuesday, Nov. 7. In anticipation, ThePerryNews.com asked each candidate for a school district office to answer a few questions in order to give voters a sense of who the candidate is and what issues motivate him or her. These candidate profiles will be published over the coming days. Interested voters might also wish to attend a candidate forum for the school board candidates, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Perry Perk coffeehouse at 1201 Warford St. in downtown Perry.
Joe Tuhn is seeking a seat on the Perry Community School District Board of Directors. Tuhn lives at 1409 Willis Ave. He can be reached at 515-490-4779 or jtuhn@hotmail.com.
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, Joe. What do you want voters to know about you, your qualifications, your intentions as an officeholder?
I was born and raised in Perry, graduating from Perry High School in 1996. My parents chose to raise their family in Perry. My mom, LuAnn, is a lifelong resident and graduate from Perry, and my dad, Rob, has made Perry his home with LuAnn for the last 46 years. I have lived in Perry nearly all my life and have been working in the Perry area for the past 15 years, mostly in farming and more recently in hauling liquified propane for Diamond Oil. Most of my work history revolves around transportation. I have obtained a Class A CDL with air brake, combination, tanker, hazardous materials, bus and passenger endorsements. For the past three years, I have been teaching behind-the-wheel instruction for Street Smarts and now have been accepted as a Perry Community School District bus driver in the hopes of helping out with transporting kids to and from activities. I also am a small business owner in Perry and have worked out of my house doing photography and videography work for the past 15 years. With the photo and video work, I have obtained my Part 107 aviation license to fly drones and volunteer with the Story County Sheriff’s Department on their UAS team. Besides being a lifelong member of Perry, attending the school system here from my preschool to high school graduation, I also volunteer my time in the community that helped raise me. I have been a volunteer coach for basketball, baseball and softball youth programs in Perry. I’m the vice president of the Perry Booster Club for my third year now and have been a board member for a total of four years thus far. Last year I helped the Perry junior class raise more than $20,000 for their junior prom and dedicated countless hours to planning and working at nearly all of their events to raise the funds. I am a very active member in the community, always willing to help out, and I take a great deal of pride in helping the community that I love. It’s because of all of my years of being in the community, all the time and effort that I have dedicated to this town, that make me want to be on the school board. I feel that with my history, I will be a great asset to the board not only by helping with the decision-making processes but rolling up my sleeves and really helping out.
2. Why are you running for elected office? Is it something that you have done before? Are other forms of public service a part of your background?
I have never run for any elected office before. As far as public service, I listed a lot in my background and why I would be a great asset to the school board. In summary, I’ve been a member of the Perry Booster Club for four years, serving the last three as vice president; coached youth sports, such as girls and boys basketball, baseball and softball; served as a member of St. Pat’s Strategic Planning Committee; helped with St. Pat’s annual auction and gala; helped last year’s junior class raise over $20,000 for prom and helped out working the event; volunteer member of Story County Sheriff’s Office’s UAS team, where I have flown a drone to assist in serving warrants, overwatch missions and general assistance when RAGBRAI rode through Story County this past summer. Recently, the school district has had a tough time finding bus drivers for activities, so I’ve applied and gone through all my classes to help out there as well.
3. Are there particular issues that you believe are urgent or important and are facing the residents of Perry? If so, what issues are these? How to you think the city council can address or resolve these issues?
I believe one major issue in our district is the hiring and retention of quality teachers. Another issue I see is kids’ participation across all extracurricular activities. As a problem solver, I look forward to the opportunity to not only lend my ideas but a chance to roll up my sleeves and help out.
4. What do you envision as the future of Perry? In what direction would you like to lead the school district?
I am part of the history in the Perry Community School District, and I currently have four kids who represent the future. They should graduate from a district in better shape than I had and hopefully will want to help contribute to continuing to make it a better district for future generations of students.
