Candidate Profile: Shawn Juris 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: Shawn Juris

Age: 38

Occupation: Insurance Agent/Owner, The Juris Agency. 

Education: BA in Psychology, Bowling Green State University

Political Affiliation: Democrat

Office Sought: Lakewood City Council, Ward 3

Previous Political Office Sought or Held: Appointed Ward 3 council member, January 2011

Candidate Statement: First and foremost, City Council serves a legislative function. My objective is to contribute to new and amended ordinances that can be enforced and take into consideration the whole community. It is rare that there will be decisions that everyone is in agreement with, however I will continue to base decisions on facts and reasoning. In terms of the budget, I look forward to identifying ways that we can streamline our efforts, reduce expenses and remain focused on our priorities. I see potential opportunities in partnerships with private businesses and civic organizations to accomplish this.

Ideally, I would like to see that these solid decisions lead to a real estate recovery and increase in our property values. While the portion of property taxes that goes toward the city is only a fraction, I would very much like to see that this tax rate be reduced. Lakewood has tremendous potential and I’m excited about working to turn this potential into reality.