BY DEEPAK JHAVERI
I was like most of you for many years. I only paid importance to the Presidential elections or the Congressional elections. I didn’t care for the other elections. However, I soon realized that as a matter of fact, the City elections and the School District elections are very important and crucial as they directly impact our lives.
I was like most of you for many years. I only paid importance to the Presidential elections or the Congressional elections. I didn’t care for the other elections. However, I soon realized that as a matter of fact, the City elections and the School District elections are very important and crucial as they directly impact our lives.
We as a community are still lagging far behind. A case in point is a startling statistical observation in the City of Cerritos – the hub of Indian-Americans in Southern California. There are about 3,200 Indian-Americans living here in Cerritos, of which only about 1,800 were registered voters up until about Oct. 2014. What’s even more pathetic is that during the last five elections, the average numbers of Indian voting have been very dismal - only about 300, as per the statistics.
It has been my experience during past few elections and on this City election campaign trail as a volunteer for ‘Naresh Solanki for Cerritos Council’ that many of our people, who have been citizens for many, many years, professionals and business-owners alike, have chosen not to register as voters mainly because there is a myth floating around – that if they register to vote, they will start receiving jury summons.
Well, firstly if we have chosen to become a citizen and reap all the benefits offered by this country, it is our fundamental duty to vote and offer ourselves for jury duty, if we are called upon. However, the truth is that even if one is not registered as a voter, even if one is not a citizen, as long as one has registered with the DMV and has a State ID or a license, one is likely to receive jury summons. So, just for this one insignificant reason, we lose this great opportunity to come out and shine.
During the past several months - door knocking, talking to people both Indians and non-Indians, I found that there are some who still believe that actively supporting a candidate means involving in politics and politics is a dirty word. I have even heard people say – “Not interested” and slam the door, in front of me. And so I ask myself – “Not interested in what???”
My dear countrymen, Now is the time for you to shine! After a very long time, we have an ideal candidate from our very own community, running for the office of the Cerritos City Council. This is the time for all of us to step up to the plate and elect our very own councilman from our community who would be our voice in the City, who will understand our problems, our challenges. And by going out to vote in large numbers, let us establish ourselves that we too are a force to reckon with so that others will then take notice of us. Until now they have come to us only for fundraising. Let us vote Naresh Solanki to landslide victory by going out to vote on Tuesday, March 3.
We see that other communities are very tight knit. If there is a candidate running for an office, from their own community, qualified or not, regardless, they will back him up. They go and vote for him / her without thinking twice. However much you may try to convince them, lure them away, they will continue to be loyal to their own community person.
Unfortunately, that unity, that solidarity, that kind loyalty is somehow missing in the Indian-American community. Well, if the community does not inspire you, there is one more reason to vote Naresh Solanki – the candidate himself. He has been a Planning Commissioner with the City for last eight years, a very successful entrepreneur with a chain of Mexican grocery stores and handling hundreds of employees. His business experience can help Cerritos balance the budget, bring transparency into their financials, besides of course guarding the safety and security of the people, looking into side walks and trees issue and bringing more businesses to the City. It is worth mentioning that Solanki has declared on record, in the City Hall that he will not take any pay, any benefits or perks from the City unless and until the City’s budget is balanced. One does not need to consider if they are a Democrat or a Republican. The City election is a bi-partisan election as such. This is the last and final call to Indian-Americans take your ballots and vote Naresh Solanki – that is your boarding pass to the flight of “success” because we would then tell the world that “We Have Finally Arrived!!”
(Jhaveri, is a resident of the City of Cerritos)
It has been my experience during past few elections and on this City election campaign trail as a volunteer for ‘Naresh Solanki for Cerritos Council’ that many of our people, who have been citizens for many, many years, professionals and business-owners alike, have chosen not to register as voters mainly because there is a myth floating around – that if they register to vote, they will start receiving jury summons.
Well, firstly if we have chosen to become a citizen and reap all the benefits offered by this country, it is our fundamental duty to vote and offer ourselves for jury duty, if we are called upon. However, the truth is that even if one is not registered as a voter, even if one is not a citizen, as long as one has registered with the DMV and has a State ID or a license, one is likely to receive jury summons. So, just for this one insignificant reason, we lose this great opportunity to come out and shine.
During the past several months - door knocking, talking to people both Indians and non-Indians, I found that there are some who still believe that actively supporting a candidate means involving in politics and politics is a dirty word. I have even heard people say – “Not interested” and slam the door, in front of me. And so I ask myself – “Not interested in what???”
My dear countrymen, Now is the time for you to shine! After a very long time, we have an ideal candidate from our very own community, running for the office of the Cerritos City Council. This is the time for all of us to step up to the plate and elect our very own councilman from our community who would be our voice in the City, who will understand our problems, our challenges. And by going out to vote in large numbers, let us establish ourselves that we too are a force to reckon with so that others will then take notice of us. Until now they have come to us only for fundraising. Let us vote Naresh Solanki to landslide victory by going out to vote on Tuesday, March 3.
We see that other communities are very tight knit. If there is a candidate running for an office, from their own community, qualified or not, regardless, they will back him up. They go and vote for him / her without thinking twice. However much you may try to convince them, lure them away, they will continue to be loyal to their own community person.
Unfortunately, that unity, that solidarity, that kind loyalty is somehow missing in the Indian-American community. Well, if the community does not inspire you, there is one more reason to vote Naresh Solanki – the candidate himself. He has been a Planning Commissioner with the City for last eight years, a very successful entrepreneur with a chain of Mexican grocery stores and handling hundreds of employees. His business experience can help Cerritos balance the budget, bring transparency into their financials, besides of course guarding the safety and security of the people, looking into side walks and trees issue and bringing more businesses to the City. It is worth mentioning that Solanki has declared on record, in the City Hall that he will not take any pay, any benefits or perks from the City unless and until the City’s budget is balanced. One does not need to consider if they are a Democrat or a Republican. The City election is a bi-partisan election as such. This is the last and final call to Indian-Americans take your ballots and vote Naresh Solanki – that is your boarding pass to the flight of “success” because we would then tell the world that “We Have Finally Arrived!!”
(Jhaveri, is a resident of the City of Cerritos)
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