Editor's Note: As part of Lakewood Patch's local election coverage, we will provide profiles ofeach of the candidates running for office. These profiles will offer biographical and issue-oriented details about each of the candidates to help you, the voters, make more-informed decisions at the ballot box.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the election.

Name: Tom Bullock

Age: 38 

Occupation: Ohio Representative, Pew Environment Group 

Education: B.A. in Political Science, American University; M.A. in Classics, University of London

Political Affiliation: Democrat (Editor's note: Members of council are non-partisan)

Office Sought: City Council, Ward 2

Previous Political Office Sought or Held: City Council, Ward 2

Candidate Statement:

I’m running for a second term to represent Ward 2 on City Council so I can continue working to keep Lakewood safe, clean, and family friendly, improve housing quality, and make Lakewood the leading walking, green city in Ohio.

After four years, I still believe in Lakewood. I’m still excited to work for this vibrant community, and I’m still energized by this job and the honor of serving residents.

In my first term, I’ve worked to make progress on safety, housing enforcement, and responsible budgeting. By partnering with two mayors and all my Council colleagues, we’ve achieved a significant amount. Among the most important accomplishments:

• putting more police in neighborhoods, expanding block clubs, and strengthening chronic nuisance enforcement;
• increasing housing enforcement;
• structurally-balancing the budget and increasing the City’s bond rating;
• expanding farmers markets, initiating bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and increasing recycling and conservation.

I plan to continue this work over the next four years. My priorities in my second term will include:

• continuing to improve housing quality through more efficient Building Department procedures and expanded enforcement;
• continuing to strengthen neighborhood safety through community policing, block clubs, and helping residents resolve problems;
• slowing down neighborhood speeding by using traffic-calming;
• taking the first steps to implement a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plan;
• budgeting to fund downtown streetscape improvements and an improved street paving schedule; and
• identifying strategic options for Lakewood to invest in new housing stock (such as cluster homes for retirees), grow the commercial corridor, and attract and retain homeowners so our City grows to 60,000 by the next census.

Retaining experience at City Hall is important, given the big changes we’ve recently experienced, including a new Mayor and three new Councilpersons. I am the second-most senior member of Council, and I have more than 16 years of professional experience in government and public service. I’ll continue to put this experience to work to solve problems in neighborhoods and represent the views of resident in City Hall.