University of Tennessee Athletics
FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER IS POPULAR CHOICE OF VOTERS
November 22, 2005 | Football
Nov. 22, 2005
By Terry Kinney, Associated Press
Maineville, Ohio - Rookie politician Michael Munoz knows better than to rush headlong into controversy when he takes office in January.
"I go by the philosophy of what's fair, what's legal and what's wise," Munoz said Friday. "I don't think it would be very wise to go in and try to change everything. What I can do is go in and do little things, like updating the Web site."
Munoz, an All-American tackle at the University of Tennessee and son of NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz, led all candidates in his first run for trustee in suburban Hamilton Township.
One of the first people he e-mailed was a professor at Tennessee, where Munoz studied political science.
"I said, 'Have I got a case study for your class,'" Munoz said.
At age 24, he was the youngest candidate among two incumbents and six challengers in Tuesday's election. Although he has lived in the township just a few months, he got 33 percent of all votes - more that twice as many as incumbent Becky Ehling, the other trustee elected in unofficial returns.
Voters ousted Clyde Baston, who was seeking his seventh four-year term. Munoz said Baston was cordial when he went to observe the trustees this week.
"I'm disappointed, but life goes on. The sun comes up tomorrow," said Baston, 67. "I'm very happy with what we have done, the progress we have made in the past 24 years."
Baston had criticized Munoz as a newcomer who didn't know much about the township, but wished him well.
"I think Michael is going to make a fantastic trustee if he takes his time and listens to his heart and listens to his gut feeling and does what's best for all the people, not just some of the people," Baston said.
But it won't always be smooth sailing.
"I think he'll find a lot more criticism than he expected," Baston said.
Munoz was a first-team, All-American tackle in 2004 but, after a series of surgeries, was passed over in the National Football League draft.
He spent a year working on a master's degree in public administration, then moved back to help with the Cincinnati-based Anthony Munoz Foundation, which conducts youth leadership seminars and other activities.
He said he often consults with his dad, but doesn't consider him a political adviser.
"He's a very wise person," Munoz said. "I talk to him about everything and bounce ideas off him."
Both are conservative Republicans. Anthony Munoz headed the Bush-Cheney campaign in eight southwest Ohio counties last year, but says he is not interested in running for office.
