POULSBO – Gregory A. Mueller has a lot on his plate. He’s in the middle of a child custody case. He allegedly violated an anti-harassment protection order involving an ex-girlfriend. He was charged with reckless endangerment after his car rear-ended another vehicle on Interstate 5 in Lewis County.

Despite it all, Mueller – a retired Navy chief petty officer – had hoped to continue a life of public service. He thought he could help straighten out some issues in the community – he was concerned about drug use in Poulsbo – even as he worked to straighten out some issues in his own life.

He turned to his faith and was baptized in a local lake. He helped build a house. But there was something else that needed to be taken care of, some issues that wouldn’t go away no matter how level each board, no matter how straight each nail. Even his ex-girlfriend wrote the court that she doesn’t want him to get into trouble; she wants him to get the help he needs.

So, on Aug. 28, after a Kitsap County Superior Court to determine whether he could resolve the protection order charge in the county’s veterans court, Mueller came to his own conclusion: that he needed to focus right now on getting his personal life in order before he ran for public office.

So, that day, he dropped out of the race for Poulsbo City Council, Position 4.

“I would like to take this opportunity to officially announce my withdrawal for candidacy for position 4 on the Poulsbo City Council,” Mueller wrote the Herald. “After much reflection, I feel that my attention on personal matters can better serve our great community.”

In his letter, Mueller indicated that he hoped to someday become involved in public service, once the emotional and legal upheavals are resolved.

“I would personally like to thank each and every one of the many dozens of Poulsbo residents that I have had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face while campaigning over the past several months. Your support and positive energy has inspired me to continue my goal of public service at a later date.

“Best wishes to Jeff McGinty and his continued service of our great city … God Bless.”

Mueller, 44, is a retired U.S. Navy fire controlman who, until May, worked as a technician for Delphinus Engineering in Bremerton. According to Mueller’s Facebook profile, he moved to Poulsbo in April 2014 and is a student at Brandman University.

He was arrested on May 25 after he went to his ex-girlfriend’s home; he told police he hadn’t been served with a protection order, although he had called police a month earlier to request police presence while he retrieved some personal effects from her house; he was arrested then after he allegedly went to the house before receiving word from the police that it was OK for him to do so.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cami G. Lewis filed a felony charge because Mueller has two earlier convictions for violation of a court order. A felony conviction would preclude him from serving in public office.

In addition, the State Patrol cited Mueller with reckless endangerment after he allegedly caused a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 in Lewis County just after 9 p.m. April 2.

Citing a State Patrol report, The Chronicle reported that Mueller was driving a red 2013 Toyota Camry northbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 62 at a high rate of speed when he rear-ended a 2001 silver Ford Escort driven by Russell W. Rowland, 32, of Randle.

“Mueller was injured in the crash and was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for treatment,” The Chronicle reported. “Rowland was not injured and his vehicle was drivable after the incident.”