South Asian Kermally, Mansoor in Historic Sugar Land Runoff
Naushad Kermally (left) and Nabila Mansoor made it to a June 4 runoff and if either wins, they would make history by becoming Sugar Land’s first Muslim American Council member.
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
SUGAR LAND: The recent elections in Fort Bend County on May 4 draw a long slate of Asian Americans contending for seats on the FBISD Board and Sugar Land City Council. Mohammed “Jazz” Aijaz lost his bid to Steve Porter for the District 1 Sugar Land Council seat while Ashish Agarwal (receiving 16.39% of the vote) and Afshi Charania (with 27.39%) lost to incumbent Jim Rice in the FBISD Position 3 race.
However, two others – Naushad Kermally and Nabila Mansoor – made it to a runoff and if either wins, they would make history by becoming Sugar Land’s first Muslim American Council member.
Both are first-time candidates and they will face each other in the runoff election on June 4 (early voting is from May 28 to June 3) to replace term-limited Bridget Yueng for Position 2. In the May 4th election, Kermally received 39.2% (or 1,634) of the votes to Mansoor’s 34.2% (or 1,428 votes). Both candidates are longtime Sugar Land residents.
Naushad Kermally, an Ismaili, moved to Ft Bend County with his family 23 years ago and later moved to Sugar Land where he has served on the board for Child Advocates of Fort Bend and other committees. He is an Executive Vice President for Prime Communications, a wireless company
Kermally’s top priority is public safety and quality of life issues, and he wants to make strengthen emergency responders with necessary tools. He also believes that mobility and drainage are key issues facing Sugar Land and need to be addressed immediately.
Nabila Mansoor, an attorney, has lived in Sugar Land for 17 years and has been a longtime grassroots advocate, working with Youth Leadership Organizer for Mi Familia Vota, and served with OCA Greater Houston and Emgage USA. Her non-profit experiences have given her a different perspective on managing complex affairs which she hopes to bring to city government.
Like her opponent, Mansoor emphasizes public safety and area infrastructure. She also wants to revitalize the city by filling up underutilized retail spaces.