The People Know Best!

If you want small government, get involved. If elected to the Elk Ridge City Council, I promise to make it easier for every citizen in Elk Ridge to get involved and have their voice heard. I know it's not easy to keep up with everything going on in the city or making it to Planning Commission or City Council meetings. But being involved and letting the city know how you feel and why is very important. I have been told by several citizens that they feel embarrassed or have been criticized when they speak out. Some feel that the short time limits imposed at meetings on speaking are way to short for matters that are deeply important to them. This is why my plan of a new and extremely interactive website will make getting your voice and opinions heard loud and clear. The new city website would allow for citizens to see and respond to all the city issues. It would also be capable of taking surveys just like the ones you see on this blog. You could also register on the site so that you would receive emails every time a new issue or something important was available. Other features would be added to help make it a site you would enjoy visiting everyday. A place where  the whole community could get involved!

Vote JASON BULLARD for City Council !

  My name is Jason Bullard. My family and I moved to
Elk Ridge about a year ago. Let me first say “ Thank You”
for the warm welcome to your beautiful community. I don’t
believe there are many cities like ours left in the world. We
all need to be thankful and proactive in maintaining this great
city. On November 3rd you will be asked to vote on filling
two very important city council seats. I am asking you to
choose me for one of these seats. Since moving to Elk Ridge
my wife and I have volunteered and been appointed to the
Elk Ridge Emergency Management Committee. This is a
group of fine men and women who have committed to come
together to support and help run this community in times
of disaster and great time of need. Another example of a fine
community at work. Besides my position on the Emergency
Management Committee, I presently serve on the Elk Ridge
Building and Planning Commission. Another group of great
individuals who volunteer our time to see that our city
continues to grow and develop in ways that make our children
want to stay and raise their children here. Over the next several
years we will have many decisions to make that will effect
the way our city developes and that will determine our ability
to survive and prosper. I am the candidate who will vote for the
changes, proper development and policies that will make
Elk Ridge the model city for neighboring communities to envy.
As you can see above,I have plenty of reasons to work hard and
see to it that Elk Ridge becomes just that.
     I am a 35 year old husband and father with 6 outstanding
children. I became a father at the early age of 17. I began
working hard and soon became a business owner. I have
successfully owned and operated a housing development
company, fitness center, computer training service, vending
entertainment company, and a property leasing company. I
served as a police officer for the City of Portland, IN for 5
years. I was a youth football coach for 6 seasons. Currently my
wife and I are building a corporation named Lynn Weldon
Publishing. It is a fine art publishing company. A business we
have been building for the past 4 years. I believe in God, family,
and hard work.
Most of all, COMMON SENSE.

Hitting the campaign trail

     Today was my first day on the campaign trail.  To everyone I met today, thank you for your time, questions and comments. Next time I will need to plan for more time. I did not expect everyone to answer their door to someone who looks like a salesman. And I really did not expect as many to be interested in chatting about our city and politics in general. There were two major issues that were raised at almost every home I visited. The CHICKENS ( animal ordinance that was just recently pasted) and water issues. As a planning commission member, I voted AGAINST passing this new ordinance onto the city council. I know this will cost me the votes of all those who were in favor of it but I am a politician who does not tell everyone what they want to hear to get votes. Let me give you a few reasons on why I felt this was a bad decision. #1 the response from most individuals I talked with while this debate raged on was that it was motivated by the struggling economy. To me, this was not a reason to pass a new city wide ordinance. If the economy would get that severe and had no end in sight, the city council could pass a temporary emergency measure to allow for some type of accommodation for chickens or another food source. #2 is major lack of code enforcement. I have only met two individuals who have requested permits for this new allowance. Both seemed to me to be very responsible and clean. BUT, what is to say that the next 2 will be as responsible. If there is no enforcement, this could get out of hand quickly. Then watch how many citizens begin to look for new homes in new areas. It's kind of like building a prison and have no plan to hire any guards. #3 is that an overwhelming number of citizens who move into a community do so because they expect to live a certain way. The same way citizens who move to the country or rural area can expect to live another. I moved from Indiana where I lived on 26 acres. You could only see one house from where I lived. I moved there because I knew our freedoms were much greater. If I wanted a massive bonfire, I could do it. If my kids wanted to ride four wheelers on the property, they could. If I wanted 20 chickens running around, I could. I had 3 dogs running around loose and they never bothered anyone.  And that was expected. Before I moved into town, I gave 2 of them away because I knew 3 dogs in town was not the normal setting for town living. Imagine moving into a farming area and trying to ask the county to pass an ordinance preventing farmers from having more than 2 cows, 6 chickens, and restricting the hours they can graze. All of this because I want to live in the country, but I want it to feel like the city. Home buyers move to areas expecting to live a certain way. I know many of you might be thinking "What about my property rights?" Well, lets go a step further. What if i wanted to put in a 4 wheeler track around my house for my sons and all their friends? A hobby workshop painting old custom cars (paint fumes every weekend while your grilling out). I could list a thousand things that mostly everyone would have a major complaint about if it was next to you. But as for property rights, where is the line drawn? I believe most of us know what we expect when we move 10 feet from another house and what we can expect when we live on 26 acres. Many have asked if I would vote for appealing this if it came to a vote. My answer is yes. I am sorry for those of you who are very responsible property owners and would probably do a fantastic job with your animal permits. It's not you whom I fear. This is why my commitment to all of you is to fix our lack of code enforcement. I would encourage everyone reading this to get our codes and read them to see if there is even one in there that you would think is bad for the city(besides the new animal one). If these codes are good, we should strictly enforce them. My plan is to do this with volunteers sworn in by the mayor. I have had 2 gentlemen in this community already volunteer to do this. I will be out knocking on doors for the next several weeks. I am very anxious to meet all of you and hopefully have a chance to chat about all your concerns and issues. For all of you who disagree with me on the animal ordinance issue, don't let this keep you from voting for me. I will still work hard for you and probably agree with you on so many other important issues. I welcome all your comments and will respond to everyone.
Thank You Elk Ridge Citizens