Candidate Profile: John Zappala for Lakewood City Council

Editor's Note: As part of Lakewood Patch's local election coverage, we will provide profiles of . 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.

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Name: John Zappala

Age: 52

Occupation: Small Business Owner/General Contractor

Education: 1977; Cleveland State 1984 Communications and English.

Political affiliation: Republican 

Office sought: Lakewood City Council At-Large

Previous office sought: Ran for County Council Ward 2 seat in 2010

Candidate statement:

I am a small business owner with a passion for the city of Lakewood, my home for my entire life, and respect for its residents. 

I have been married to my wonderful wife Holly for 23 years and have three children, Jonathan, Heather, and Brad. One of the reasons I am running is to keep Lakewood safe for my children and yours and full of opportunities for them in the future.

I am grateful to my parents that taught me the value of a dollar. I grew up in a working class Lakewood Family and graduated from Lakewood High before paying my own way through college at Cleveland State.

We have all heard politicians say "We have to do more with less." What we need is to make better use of the budget we have. Every day, families make tough choices to live within their means. As an owner of a home restoration business I know that  pending money on the wrong things not only breaks the budget, but gives you a poor return on your investment. It's time for the taxpayers to receive a quality return for their tax dollars.

I am tired of seeing our spend their time deciding how long your car can idle, What the maximum length of tree branches can be to be picked up by refuse workers, and whether or not you are allowed to power wash your house.