Tom Bullock Kicks Off Re-Election Campaign In Lakewood

As part of election coverage, Patch will be rolling out profiles of candidates seeking election to city council.

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood city councilman-at-large Tom Bullock is seeking re-election to his seat. He's already a very busy man without a campaign to worry about, and sitting down for lunch at Cleveland Vegan gives him a brief moment of respite to reflect on his vision of the city.

He says Lakewood is in good shape, but still has a lot of room to improve. One of his most pressing concerns is keeping Lakewood a neighborhood for people of all economic backgrounds.

In recent years, there has been a blazing hot surge in demand for houses in the city. The average sale price for a Lakewood home has increased 45.8 percent over the past five years, according to research from Berkshire Hathaway. There were approximately 558 homes sold in Lakewood in 2016.

While that demand has provided a shiny new reputation for Lakewood as a community to live in, it's also got Bullock and other city officials worrying the community may be gentrifying.

"Everything I’ve done on council has been about making Lakewood succeed so that regular folks have just as much of a chance to succeed as the wealthy and the well-connected," Bullock says. "Every one of our neighbors should have a shot at the American dream."

But the changing housing culture is a unique problem, Bullock admits. No one has a clear solution, partly because the market is still in flux. It's not yet clear if Lakewood is in the middle of a housing demand surge, or close to plateauing. Even a drop in housing prices is possible, though Bullock thinks it unlikely.

That said, Bullock is bullish on the housing market. He believes a corner has been turned in public perception. Inner ring suburbs are no longer seen as starter communities for young couples that will eventually depart for communities like Bay Village or Westlake. Instead, cities like Lakewood are increasingly viewed as a need-to-be, long term destination.

"For many families, their home is their biggest investment. That means their economic future is improving," he says.

Making the Little Things Work and Exploring Policies

Bullock is quick to note that the city's economic success in recent years is the result of a number of people and factors, and credit has to be distributed evenly. He's also quick to point out how important details are to a community that Lakewood.

He touts his work on a tree program that is designed to diversify the plant life throughout Lakewood. He's also worked with Mayor Michael Summers on a program for repaving sidewalks, a feature he believes contributed to the city's reputation of walkability.

"An attention to detail matters to residents," he told Patch. "We can get this right, we can make Lakewood stronger."

Bullock also wants to increase the role of public arts in Lakewood, and has been meeting with representatives from the Beck Center to further that objective. He notes that children in Lakewood should have the same exposure to arts as children in outer ring suburbs.

Facing Challenges

While Lakewood is in good shape at the moment, the community faces a number of threats in Bullock's eyes. First, the constant threat of reduced funding because of contractions in the state budget. Governor John Kasich's proposed budget would pull money out of a local government fund and divert it to opioid crisis solutions.

Bullock thinks that's a shell game, noting the city has been using local government funds to help battle the spread of opioids. The withdrawal of state funding could also impact how Lakewood Schools are funded.

But everything comes back to the threat of gentrification. And Bullock says he doesn't have a list of "magic answers."

"This is something we just have to keep in view. We have to keep affordability in our minds," he says.

Photos from Rick Uldricks, Patch