After an unsuccessful run at Chatham-Kent’s mayor’s chair in the last Municipal election, a local businessman will take another crack at it in 2018.
Jeff Bultje announced his intentions to run for mayor earlier this month.
However, Bultje told the Sydenham Current he’s hoping to narrow down the field of candidates with his early announcement.
“So that we get hopefully just one competitor running against Mayor Randy Hope because last time there was (seven) people that ran and he won with, I believe, around 25%. So that’s not too democratic I don’t think.”
Bultje said he’ll only stay in the running to become mayor, if no other qualified candidates put their name in the hat.
Bultje said he would step aside if another candidate enters the race who he feel is a better choice.
“This was just an attention that I will potentially run. There is other people that are potentially running,” he said.
“What this hopefully does is that the day that we can file to give our commitment to run for the mayorship is that we are not going to have six or seven people sign up that day and have all this money spent on signs and on a campaign. So hopefully we will get this straightened out in the next 11 months.”
The long-time home builder said his supporters wanted him to take a second run at C-K’s top spot.
“I ran last time and a lot of my supporters said as a first timer they wanted me to run again,” Bultje said.
“Also too, I would like to run as well.”
His position and motto is the same as 2014 – ‘back to basics.’
“That municipal government just mind their own business, meaning taking care of the roads, bridges and sidewalks and stay out of business, stay our of theatres and stay out of railroads,” he said.
“I think once a city thinks that they can invest tax payers money into businesses and into non-conditional things, it may seem like a good idea. It might even be a good idea, but I don’t think it fits the mandate of a municipality to do that with tax payers money. I think that causes a lot of conflict and then every business can go south, then what are you going to say to taxpayers?”
Bultje said he believes it is important for people to get involved in municipal politics.
“Sometimes on a federal and provincial level it may seem more more important, but I think that municipal politics is probably the closest way that you can really affect your community and in a way that is probably the most grassroots way to approach politics,” he said.
“One of the number one ways that you can really affect your community in a positive, or potentially a negative way. It’s about getting involved.”
Bultje had the fifth most votes out of the seven mayoral candidates in 2014.
He gathered 4,298 votes, good for 13.28% of the total votes.
Randy Hope received the most votes 9,242 (28.55%), followed by runner-up Marjorie Crew with 7,884 (24.35%), Steve Brent with 5,603 (17.31%), Ian McLarty with 4,451 (13.75%). Reno Lachapelle gathered 558 votes (1.72%) and John Willatt had 339 votes (1.05%).
