Another name has been added to the mix to run for the mayor’s position in Chatham-Kent.
Chatham resident Jeff Bultje filed his papers this morning and will be be running for C-K’s top spot.
Bultje told the Sydenham Current he beleives Chatham-Kent needs a strong voice.
“It was a very nervous deicsion for me,” he said. “I’ve been building houses in Chatham for 26 years, so this is a really big change for me. Being in the building industry you deal with the city a lot. Chatham has taken some bad advice from outside influences here in the whole county.
He added: “Chatham really has to get back on track ith the whole controlling our own business in our own community, instead of using outside consultants all the time. I think that is the biggest push for me. Chatham needs a strong voice for Chatham, as opposed to always having outside consultants telling us how to do things here.”
Bultje said he wants to give the smaller communities in C-K should be making more decisions for themselves.
“Pre-amalgamation we had smaller communities like Thamesville, Ridgetown, Dresden, Tilbury… all these outside smaller communities and they were all self-governed and things got done a lot more efficiently that way,”he said. “Now we have this whole Chatham model. I would say not necessarily get rid of amalgamtion, but have the smaller communities direct their own business a little bit more in a different way, as opposed to the Chatham-Kent way.”
He added: “Obviously these communities are special in Chatham. Of course the people living in Dresden feel their community is special, and the people in Pain Court feel their community is special. I think all; these little communitiesneed a little bit of self-direction.”
Bultje said he beleives C-K needs its own solution.
“I think Chatham is a unique community in Ontario and I think when politicians start talking with the community, I think a lot of times it’s easy to get side tracked into thinking that maybe the solution for Chatham is how other communities are run,” he said. “I think we can use some of the good things from other communities but it is a very unique situation. We have a declining population, we have an older population. The way other people do things is not the solution for Chatham.”
Bultje has been married to Jackie for 26 years and is the father of five children.
Bultje said he has served of school boards and various other committees in Chatham.
Bultje joins Marjorie Crew, John Willatt and Reno Lachapelle as the mayoral candidates so far in C-K.
Incumbent mayor Randy Hope has stated he will be seeking a third term, but has yet to file his papers.
The deadline to enter the race is September 12.
Election Day is Oct. 27.
