Runoff: Harish Jajoo for Sugar Land Mayor
By Vanshika Vipin
SUGAR LAND: While the entire world’s eyes are on the much debated Trump and Clinton’s face off, Sugar Land is witnessing a historic moment in its Local Mayoral elections. Considered as one of the most ethnically diverse place, the city is prepping up for the runoff elections on June 11 between the first ever South Asian Mayoral candidate, Harish Jajoo and Joe Zimmerman.
Harish Jajoo, in an exclusive interview with IAN, thanked the residents of Sugar Land who trusted in him and came out to vote in his favor in the first round of elections held in early May . “I am overwhelmed with the love and support I have received in this electoral journey. Not only did the citizens of Sugar Land support, but people from across Houston came forward to build up the momentum for us. Change, I say, is round the corner. It’s heartening to witness that we are mirroring a national trend of the upsurge of the ethnic races in politics”
So what is important to any individual living across the globe? Good living conditions, Safety, Affordable Housing, Infrastructure. Sugar Land’s expectation is no different. People want a local government that can empathize with their needs and wants. They want a leader whose developmental thoughts resonate with theirs, more so the younger generation, the future of Sugar Land.
So how does he reach out to all the segments of the city for his electoral drive? “Youth have to be engaged in the process of development. They are the building blocks of the city’s future. Taking them in confidence and winning their votes thus is of utmost importance for anyone who wants to be relevant in the current times. As a part of our campaign, we selected few youth leaders and gave them important roles. The gen-x is motivated by the roles they play in the whole ecosystem. We engaged and motivated them to include more peers from community and work space, regardless of whether they were South-Asians or not” said Jajoo.
Jajoo is a thirty-one years resident of Sugar Land. He and his wife Shashi have lived in Sugar Land since 1985 and have two grown sons . He is the first South Asian-American in the history of Sugar Land to run for mayor. Harish was elected into the Sugar Land City Council in 2011 and has served on the Council ever since. By profession, he is a consulting engineer and a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.
“We, South Asians, are a very industrious community. We are diligent in whatever work we pick up and the country has bore the testimony of excellence of our community in Academia, healthcare, law, engineering and accountancy. However, politics is left far behind. With this election, we intend to create a history even in Politics” said Jajoo on the involvement of the South Asian community in Politics.
As part of the Sugar Land city council, he has played an integral role in many economic development and infrastructure projects of Sugar Land. Thus understanding the functioning complexities of the city and in a bid to tackle the local issues of the city, Jajoo, one of two Indian-Americans on the six-person City Council, said “We want to promise a council that not only listens, but also acts timely. We want to responsibly address the issues that have been bothering the people of Sugar Land namely the fiscal deficit, taxes, public safety, infrastructure and economic development. No citizens would be happy if they were constantly worried about their economy and safety while battling with their daily lives. In order to make Sugar Land more prosperous, we aim to create it as a preferred destination for visitors. We would also be working in the future annexation of the New Territory and the Greatwood areas into city of Sugar Land.”
Besides working as an engineer and being a city council member, Jajoo is a Certified Flood Plain Manager in the State of Texas and has been active in several professional and community activities and organizations. His only appeal to the citizens of Sugarland is, “Go out and Vote.”
Along with his team, they have reached out to more than 8000 homes since he started his campaign in September 2015. Closer to the elections, they are now planning on visiting another 3000 homes in the next 4 weeks.
If you are someone who is looking for ‘Change’ and would like to be a part of this history, then do go out and vote or volunteer for the campaign. To volunteer email at campaign@harishjajooforsugarland.com
(Early election dates are Tuesday, May 31 – June 7, Tuesday. Election Day is Saturday, June 11.) Early voting Location and Election Day voting location details can be found at www.jajooforsugarland.com