By Bryan Thomas, Lakewood City Council Candidate
People run for public Office for many reasons. Some run seeking fame and fortune and others run because they have an agenda they want to get things done. Then, there are people like myself. I decided to run for Lakewood City Council simply because I wanted to be a part of making our city the best it can be. The one lesson I have learned is that campaigning is hard. You are always on the go from one event to another. You spend less time with your family and friends because you are out knocking on doors or talking to potential voters trying to get their vote before your opponent.
Then there is the matter of the campaign signs all over the city. You, along with your supporters spend hours putting them up just to drive by the next day and see them lying on the ground. The first time you see them lying there, you assume that the wind or rain have knocked them over. So you get out and put them back up again. The next day you see the same signs down again and then you start thinking that someone does not like them there, but you smile and maybe laugh a little thinking this is the game of politics. The next day you drive by and now you see that the sign is riddled with bullet holes and now you start thinking, should I be concerned about my safety?
This is exactly what I encountered yesterday, on what my family calls my morning sign patrol. The sign had been peppered with bullets. I know we elect our city leadership for many reasons. You like the way they look or maybe you agree with their plan on making the city great. What other country in the world gives its citizens the right to chose the people they want to lead them like the United States does? I always thought that when it came to politics people expressed candidate choices at election time by voting, not by shooting holes through campaign signs in a residential neighborhood!
Our city is facing some serious problems in the areas of economic development, roads, trains, and homelessness among other issues. I vow, to not only work with our city to address these areas, but I have the experience and the ideas of how we may fix these issues.
Like you, I am a resident of this great diverse community and only want to make it better and that is why I am running for Lakewood City Council.
Ed says
Are you sure those were actually bullet holes? I find it difficult to believe that within the Lakewood community someone could “riddle a sign with bullet holes” without several calls going out to 911. Yet I have heard nothing in the news or in the rumor mill that such an event happened. Perhaps someone created pseudo holes to plant a message – which is bad enough, but guns make a great deal of noise, especially at night.
Ken Upton says
Bryan is a good friend of ours, a Christian memeber of our community and is dedicated and committed in his desire to serve Lakewood as a member of the City Council. He has no alterior motives in seeking this position except to do his level best to address and help solve the various problems currently facing the community. In spite of the recommendation by The News Tribune for his opponent because of his military background, therefore more capable in dealing with Fort Lewis-McChord, in my opinion we don’t need another military retiree on the council. Those qualifications have have been overwhelming in past elections and I think it’s time to choose a local, civic minded resident who will represent our best interests as Lakewood citizens.
Ken and Bridget Upton