The Observation Deck

Hoffert, my friend.

On the issue of power, you are defining the male pattern of power over. Not everyone functions in that fashion.

There are some that believe in power from within. Within the self, within the system, to create change.

Believe it or not, not everyone wants to weild the power over others or the system. Some truly want to create change. Sometimes that means proving yourself and paying your dues at the local level so that people know you and trust you.

At that point, you have the credentials to move on and bring things to this city at the state or federal level. Lakewood has benefitted from Mike Skindell being from Lakewood. Wouldn't it be nice to have another Lakewoodite speak for us at the state level?

sharon kinsella wrote:Believe it or not, not everyone wants to weild the power over others or the system. Some truly want to create change. Sometimes that means proving yourself and paying your dues at the local level so that people know you and trust you.

Wow....I actually agree with Sharon on this

sharon kinsella wrote:Lakewood has benefitted from Mike Skindell being from Lakewood. Wouldn't it be nice to have another Lakewoodite speak for us at the state level?

Sharon

It would be.

Maybe that person will step forward someday and run.


FWIW


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My story that got bumped.

Tom Bullock's War On Crime Takes A Break For Art And Divine Intervention


As the Tom Bullock graffiti appeared in the Scene Magazine article written by
Michael Gill. In the article Councilman Bullock who ran almost entirely on the
platform of fighting crime, was quoted as saying that at least this
"street artist" knew and understood politics. He also bragged that he has
added it to his "facebook" page. How kool!

Well the LO has tracked down the artist of the Bullock piece, and we all might
be surprised why it was done, and just how savvy the artist is on politics,
promises, and the war on crime in Ward 2.

See the collection here!
http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... tervention



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C'mon Jimmy, you are being so harsh. Don't you know it's tough to pretend to do the job of a Ward 2 Councilman and run for another office at the same time? It's kinda like being the Mayor of a city of 50K and having time to attack a private citizen on city time using a city computer. Politics as usual at city hall.

Ryan Patrick Demro wrote:C'mon Jimmy, you are being so harsh. Don't you know it's tough to pretend to do the job of a Ward 2 Councilman and run for another office at the same time? It's kinda like being the Mayor of a city of 50K and having time to attack a private citizen on city time using a city computer. Politics as usual at city hall.

OMG I seriously just spit out my coffee every where, and part of it came out my nose. Thank you for that.

One person says he'll run for the state senate while another says he'll run for Skindell's seat when he's termed out. I haven't seen any formal statements from Tom Bullock saying he will run in 2010 for anything.

Is all this talk of him running merely second hand gossip? I’d love to know whether this is fact or fiction since I’m not in any political circles, coffee clatches, etc.

Maybe the man himself can post here to either confirm or deny?

Charlie Page wrote:One person says he'll run for the state senate while another says he'll run for Skindell's seat when he's termed out. I haven't seen any formal statements from Tom Bullock saying he will run in 2010 for anything.

Is all this talk of him running merely second hand gossip? I’d love to know whether this is fact or fiction since I’m not in any political circles, coffee clatches, etc.

Maybe the man himself can post here to either confirm or deny?

Charlie,
I started this thread after I received an announcement email from Tom Bullock about his run.

Diane Helbig wrote:Charlie,
I started this thread after I received an announcement email from Tom Bullock about his run.

Diane - Thanks


Everyone else - please resume the tarring and feathering

Charlie Page wrote:One person says he'll run for the state senate while another says he'll run for Skindell's seat when he's termed out. I haven't seen any formal statements from Tom Bullock saying he will run in 2010 for anything.

Is all this talk of him running merely second hand gossip? I’d love to know whether this is fact or fiction since I’m not in any political circles, coffee clatches, etc.

Maybe the man himself can post here to either confirm or deny?

From Tom Bullock April 6.


April 6, 2009


Some exciting news! I am writing to make a special announcement to my friends, family, and close colleagues: I'm running for the Ohio Statehouse to represent Lakewood and Cleveland's West Side (Ohio's 13th District). I have served Lakewood as a Councilman at City Hall, and I want to continue my service by representing our community in Columbus.

I'm running to bring new leadership to Northeast Ohio. To more effectively grow jobs in an Information Age economy, we need leaner, smarter, cleaner government. To make the changes we need, our leaders must be part of the solution. We need our representatives in Columbus to:

transform the Rust Belt into the Green Energy Belt;

bring back our tax dollars to develop our region;

make state government live within its means, without raising taxes;

fight for reform both at the Statehouse and in the Democratic party.

About the race: Term limits require the incumbent to retire after next year, setting up an open seat primary for May 2010. As a strong Democratic district, Slightly Smaller Link click here & scroll to page 13 to see a map), I expect a very competitive election, so I am hitting the ground running, with campaigning starting this month and a public announcement to come in May.

The change begins with us. I hope you'll join my campaign to bring change to Columbus, Cuyahoga County, and our communities. To do this, I need your help. Please https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... id=4527898 click here to support my campaign with a donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, or whatever you can afford. Or you can volunteer to help build the grassroots movement we will need for victory next May (our first event is April 25th -- see sidebar for more info).

I greatly appreciate your friendship and support over the last few years, and I'm excited about working with you on this new effort.

Thank you,
Tom


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Holy Layout Braking Batman!!

NOTE: the "Slightly Smaller Link " was not part of the original email.

Still waiting to hear what Mr. Demro's plans are for his next campaign.

Mr. Sage, I have no plans to run for office at the present time.

does anyone ever think that it's threads like this that push politicians and people who want to do good for the city away before their time?

i've heard and read about many people who have worked hard to build a better lakewood that kept running into road blocks and then eventually decided to just leave and take their vision elsewhere.

i'm not going to pretend to know the reasoning for councilman bullock's or mayor fitzgerald's decisions to run for other offices, but the fact of the matter is still that they will continue representing lakewood in those other positions if they happen to be elected to them.

chris richards wrote:does anyone ever think that it's threads like this that push politicians and people who want to do good for the city away before their time?

Chris

Why no I have never thought that. To be honest if it is threads like this that make them move on then they should just get out of politics.

As we start papers in other cities, one of the many things the other cities and their politicians seem to enjoy is: 1) putting an actual real name to the post/position, 2) Like knowing what constituents are thinking and saying, 3) Gauge quickly and easily what the city is thinking, 4) A public place to vet ideas and stop rumors in the bud.

Mayor Edward FitzGerald had become a pro at using this tool just for that. Go back and read the garbage thread, it is the one I use to show how it can work, and how the politicans can do a great job with the four I mentioned.

The very real truth is everything in this thread I have heard in coffee shops, stores, bars, backyards, etc. But here someone is posting them, they are in the open, and all have a chance to respond and interact with those that voted or didn;t vote for them. So if you are as vain as some mentioned in this thread seem to be, then you send out your little tweets, of message to friends and you think all is just beautiful. Ot like in my case they use back channels to drag your name through the mud, so they never have a chance to respond. Here at least I have a chance to correct any wrong, or whatever.

I do find it funny coming from a person that was using a blog to stalk me, and attack me, BUT in the end gave me a chance publicly to explain why I park the way I do. For that I am grateful, and I have always been glad for that chance and everything that has come out of it since.

If you run for office and do not think these kind of things are being talked about behind your back, than you are a fool. Everyone in this thread is actually doing the person a favor by bringing it into to the open court of public opinion, airing their differences.



FWIW


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