Represent & Serve the People of Hilliard
Passion For Service
The main reason I want to represent you on Hilliard City Council is simple: I have a passion for serving. Having spent nearly my entire adult life in service to the Nation and the State, I simply can't fathom doing anything else. 30 years in the military has a way of infusing a desire to serve into your very DNA.
As a military officer, I swore a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to work each day to make the lives of my fellow citizens better. I want to serve on Hilliard City Council because I understand that there’s no greater feeling than knowing that your actions have had a positive impact on someone else’s life; moreover, on the greater good the community. I believe that far too many of our elected officials today have sought office for all the wrong reasons. In my view, there’s only one reason for seeking elected office: i.e., to serve those who voted to elect you—and even those who didn’t.
Experience For The Job
As a military leader, I was a part of the government for 30 years and I know how it works; moreover, I know where it falls short and what can be done to make it work better. As a retired senior military officer, I have significant leadership experience and am adept at influencing disparate groups of people to work as a team to achieve objectives.
Equally important, while I am undoubtedly a Democrat, I spent 30 years prohibited (by Department of Defense Directive) from engaging in political activities. The reason for this prohibition is simple: The military is subject to civilian control and must remain politically neutral. Military members, therefore, are obligated to perform their duties in a nonpartisan and apolitical manner: i.e., to avoid even the hint of engaging in political activities. If elected to city council, I will continue this nonpartisan approach to serving. While I am undoubtedly a progressive leader, I happen to believe that having progressive ideals, means having empathy for and serving all the people you represent — regardless of their political beliefs and regardless of whether they voted for you or not.
Why would this make me a good candidate?
My 30 years of military experience have made me extremely adept at gaining consensus, enacting policies, and working within the government’s interagency processes — in an apolitical manner — to get things done.
A Love for Our Nation & Constitution
My love for America is founded squarely on the first three words of the Preamble to the United States Constitution: “We the People….” Unfortunately, I'm convinced that far too many of our fellow citizens— currently serving in all levels of government —either don’t understand why these were chosen as the first three words of our Constitution; or they simply choose to ignore the reason they were chosen. It’s clear to me why these three words were chosen: the government is comprised of the People; the functions of the government are performed by the People; and the government exists solely for the benefit of the People. The reason, of course, is probably captured best in that immortal line of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address: “…government of the People, by the People, for the People….”
Service as an American Ideal
I want to serve on the Hilliard City Council because I genuinely love the ideals embedded in our Constitution (which I swore an oath to defend with my life, if needed) and believe that one of those ideals — which is woven throughout the entire document — is the concept of service to others and on behalf of the greater good. I passionately believe that our Constitution is firmly rooted in the concept that government — at ALL levels — exists solely to act on the People’s behalf; all of the People—particularly the neediest among us.
As citizens of this Nation, we ALL have a responsibility to serve the greater good; and I believe that those who wish to serve as elected representatives of their fellow citizens are saying (or at least they should be saying) that they are willing to take on even more of that responsibility.
I happen to agree with President Obama’s assertion that the most important position in our democracy is “Citizen.” Through elections, citizens make the most important decisions, in our form of government, when they choose who represents them — and their collective will — in that government. Elected officials, therefore, must always act on behalf of their fellow citizens and take action that benefits those citizens. If elected, I will consider that to be my solemn duty.
“Having never been elected to office, I see myself as a political outsider. As a veteran military leader, however, I do know how government works and how to navigate it to achieve objectives and make things happen….”
- Greg Betts
GREG BETTS FOR HILLIARD CITY COUNCIL