Candidates' Forum -- Tom Bullock Answers

Please describe your current job and past experience. 50 words

Most experienced member of Lakewood City Council—over 13 years. More than 25 years in public service and government, including on Capitol Hill and for top Ohio officials. Represented a national foundation and led Ohio advocacy on clean energy. Currently executive director for an Ohio utility consumer advocate and watchdog.

1.) No one can dispute the fact that there has been an influx of businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, and a gentrification of the community. The previous two administrations had the residents carrying more than their fair share of the burden for this build-up through failed developments, taxes, property evaluation, and giveaways to both businesses and developers. 
 
Describe 3 programs you are looking to start that would principally benefit residents. Highlight which ones will help current Lakewoodites stay in their homes and/or improve their daily life. 250 words

There are more than three priority issues I’ve worked on, but three top issues I’d like to work on in the years ahead include:

1. Keeping our foundation sound: remaining disciplined in responsible budgeting, effective management, and investment in workforce training and technology so our delivery of core city services (such as refuse, police, fire, street repair, and snow plowing) is reliable, effective, and cost-effective. Lakewood has come a long way in improving in these areas, and we can’t take that progress for granted.
2. Innovating every year: attracting residents through continuous improvement to our neighborhoods such as by slowing down cut-through speeders on more streets through expanded use of traffic calming; extending our investment in parks to include sports fields, so every square inch is beautiful, functional, highly used, and supports excellence in recreational sports; and extending options for affordable, 100 percent clean power to all Lakewood residents and businesses.
3. Addressing emerging strategic issues to position Lakewood for long-term success: attracting and shaping major commercial development so they add vitality, new residents, and new customers while fitting within Lakewood's context; building on our strength as a walkable streetcar town to make our city green and healthy--a place where health happens in neighborhoods (a type of resiliency that’s all the more important in the midst of the COVID-19 public health crisis).

2) ) What will you do to provide relief to residents whose quality of life has been impaired by the ever increasing intrusion of businesses into our residential areas? This includes outdoor dining, speeding/parking, loud behavior, accessibility to our sidewalks, crime etc. 150 words

First, neighborhood problem-solving and advocacy by Councilmembers themselves can help to get an effective City response. To help buffer neighborhoods from the effects of commercial areas, I will continue to provide timely, responsive, and effective customer service to solve neighborhood problems and respond to specific neighborhood complaints.

To address speeding, I championed traffic calming, which has been implemented on a limited number of streets but recently implemented as a formal program for more streets. I support funding to expand that and to achieve safety and better quality of life via environmental design, such as engineering a street for lower speeds (traffic calming).

Consistent sidewalk repair was a program I co-championed years ago, and I’m happy to report we are completing our ninth year of a ten-year cycle of sidewalk repairs, resulting in more than 160 miles of sidewalks repaired to date.