*Tom Bullock is a candidate for Lakewood City Council. [Photo provided by Tom Bullock]*

All responses have been submitted by the candidate.

Candidate name: Tom Bullock

Candidate contact: tombullockforlakewood@gmail.com

Candidate age: 51

Candidate’s stated party affiliation: Democrat

Position Sought: Lakewood City Council At-Large

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? Just me.

What is your educational background?

B.A. in Political Science, American University (Washington, D.C.); M.A. Classics, Royal Holloway, University of London

What is your occupation?

Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board of Ohio

Do you have any previous experience as an elected official?

Yes, I’ve served on Lakewood City Council since 2008.

Why are you seeking office?

To keep Lakewood a place where all may find opportunity and quality of life.

What do you think the single most pressing issue facing city council is?

Lakewood has traditionally been a community where everyone can find a good quality of life–including working families and the middle class. As prices rise and uncertainty mounts nationally, Lakewood is more important than ever to providing that opportunity. Our City has a job to do in maintaining that promise, and I will work to see that it does.

What differentiates you from other candidates?

With more than 17 years of service in Lakewood municipal government, I bring to City Council the most experience and the deepest perspective on both past problems Lakewood has overcome and new challenges that are arising. Beginning in 2008, I helped steward the City budget through difficult times, including three consecutive financial crises: previous overspending of city funds; then the national foreclosure crisis, followed by State leaders cutting in half the local government fund (revenue sharing of state tax revenues with). We work with frugality and discipline, shepherding the community through these hard times to its current growth and vibrance, which I do not take for granted.

Please summarize your campaign platform.

To keep Lakewood a vibrant community that gives residents just as much opportunity as those living in the most affluent exurbs, if reelected I will work on the following priorities:

Continued equitable investment in parks, with a focus on the second largest, Madison Park;

Strengthening neighborhoods by focusing on housing quality and a diversity of housing options to ensure people of all means and abilities can call Lakewood home;

Building a stronger walking and biking culture through infrastructure investment and enhanced traffic enforcement;

Supporting our vibrant retail corridors and finding new ways to attract and retain unique local businesses;

Strong leadership at City Hall built on customer service balanced with fiscal responsibility;

Making Lakewood a haven for decency and common-sense values in a contentious national political landscape.

What past experiences indicate that you’ll succeed as a councilperson?

I work directly with residents to help them get community initiatives started, including: facilitating the creation of LEAF’s community gardening program; championing creation of the Saturday morning Lakewood Farmers Market (we’ve got to start this again post-COVID); changing laws to allow leashed dogs in Lakewood Parks for the first time in decades; authoring legislation that created the Lakewood Animal Safety and Welfare Advisory Board; expanding recycling; and expanding Lakewood’s use of clean energy–leading to solar panels on city hall, a 100 percent clean power supply for all City operations, and making Lakewood homes’ and businesses’ default choice for power supply under NOPEC to be affordably-priced clean energy. This hands-on approach and practical experience can still work–and is still needed! We can help Lakewood achieve its highest potential–and there’s still more we’ve all got within us.

Is there anything else voters should know about you?

I’m a dad of three kids who are elementary students at Lakewood Public Schools and we walk to school regularly in the mornings, participating with other families in a “Walking School Bus”, so connecting with neighbors and pedestrian safety are real, practical concerns for me. We are enjoying soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, chess, music, and acting at Lakewood parks, schools, and the Beck Center, a community treasure. I try to give back to Lakewood as much as Lakewood gives to me and my family!