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McCullough
City Council candidate for Place 4 Jacob McCullough feels that one of the most important qualities for any representative is honesty.
“The most important thing is to be transparent with the citizens,” said the 43-year-old Early native. “I just promise I’ll be honest and transparent and take every issue seriously that’s brought before the board.”
McCullough admits he hasn’t always been politically minded but feels that’s true for many. “When you’re younger, you don’t really pay much attention to politics,” McCullough said. “As you get older, you want to get involved. You hear people complaining about things all the time but no one wants to get involved and fix things.”
McCullough noticed this trend so when someone suggested he run for an open seat, he thought it would be a good opportunity to give back to Dublin, the town he has called home for the last 10 years.
Jacob and his wife, Stephanie, have five kids total, ranging between 25 and 9. Jacob said the home town feel of Dublin is a great place to raise a child and he is very happy about the quality education the youngest is getting at Dublin Elementary. “The school system is really good,” he said. “I feel like my daughter has learned a lot. We plan on her graduating here.”
McCullough said the small-town friendliness of Dublin reminds him a lot of Early, where he graduated from high school. “I like the small town feel,” he said. After graduation, we went to work for Kohler before taking a position at FMC, where he has worked the last 16 years. He currently works as the CNC Programmer for machines at the Stephenville plant and uses his machining knowledge in helping Stephanie, who owns Dublin Cleaners.
Although politics might be new to McCullough, serving the community isn’t. When he isn’t working at FMC or the cleaners, he can often be found coaching youth sports, currently with the Dublin Baseball Softball Association. “There’s a lot of practices and games but I enjoy it,” he said of coaching. “I think it’s important kids find something positive to occupy their time.”
McCullough is looking to attend Council meetings to see what goes into the decision-making process but admits he will have to learn the ins and outs if elected.
“I know there’s a bunch of challenges that come with [the position], but I want to be part of the solution,” he said.
McCullough feels there are good things happening around town like the repairs downtown, but he would like to see other improvements at places like the City Park. He added that the ability to host more events and tournaments there would bring more tourism to town.
McCullough is going in without an agenda though.
“I want to go in open minded,” he said. “I want to see how things work and listen to the people. It’s a servant role. Sometimes, I think we forget you’re supposed to be a servant and do the best for everyone.”
McCullough will face off against fellow challenger Tyson Lueck for Place 4 City Council on the May 4 ballot.