Mielke downsizes, now has only eight vehicles

Tom Mielke will serve as chairman of the Board of County Commissioners this year, taking over the duty from Commissioner Steve Stuart.

Besides running meetings, the chairman doesn’t have to take on much extra work, Mielke said.

Which leaves Mielke, 68, time to indulge in his hobby: working on his vehicles.

As has been reported, Mielke, who used to own a trucking company, has several vehicles.

He doesn’t understand why anyone would think that’s interesting, but was kind enough to take the time to rattle off the contents of his fleet.

Until recently Mielke, who lives in the Daybreak area and has a shop on his property, had nine cars. But he gave a Buick to one of his children who needed a more reliable vehicle.

That leaves him with: a semi-truck, two pickup trucks (one of which he co-owns with his campaign manager), a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino, a 1965 Corvair convertible, a 1992 Corvette, a 1975 Chevrolet Nova and a 1997 Cadillac.

He drives the Cadillac to work.

Fixing up vehicles is “my hobby,” Mielke said. “Some people have horses. Some people read books. Some people travel.”