Two Indian Americans were re-elected with overwhelming majority in local elections in Texas on Tuesday.
Ken Mathew was re-elected as Stafford City Councillor At Large with 76 per cent of the votes polled while Tom Abraham was unopposed in nearby Sugarland, as Councilor At Large Position One for a third time.
Abraham's name was on the ballot paper and he received 5,306 votes, more votes than other candidates contesting for at large position two or as mayor. Pakistani American S B Gaddi contested for at large position two, but received only 2,193 votes, while the winner Jacquie Chaumette got 4,979 votes.
In Stafford, four people contested for three seats. Both incumbents, Mathew, 60, a financial specialist, and Cecil Willis, won.
The mayor and six council members are elected at-large with staggered two-year terms and collectively form the city council. A mayor pro tem is elected annually from among the city council.
Mathew, a 24-year resident of Stafford, a suburb of Houston, has a record of community service. Before running for city council two years ago, he had held several posts at the grassroots level. 'I have a passion for public service. My credentials speak for themselves. Even though I am not famous, if you look into my credentials, I have been doing lots of things for the community,' he said then.
After the election victory last time, he summed up his goals: 'I truly want the city to be the shining example on the hill-top of America. I want to be the catalyst to bring all the people -- Caucasians, African Americans, Latinos, Asians -- together. When we bring them together the fabric of the society is going to be so colorful that it will be strength, like a rock.'
Stafford is the only city in the state which has no property tax, though it has a school tax. Mathew says he too worked to keep the property tax away and will continue to work for that in future.
Forbes magazine recently surveyed 40,000 cities and selected 100 as the best place to live and do business. Stafford, with a population of 23,000, was at number 36.
"Lack of property tax and better facilities to do business are attracting more people to the city. We want to keep the city as a top destination for such people. We invested about $100 million to improve the infrastructure recently," Mathew said.
The city council had also acted to rejuvenate many areas which were facing problems and negative growth, he said.
The zoning laws were recently made stricter. The city council and the mayor were fiscal conservatives. So they were very careful in spending the public money, which too benefited the city much, he said.
But there are problems like declining academic standards and achievements of the schools. The schools are not fully under the city council. He said it will be a priority for the new city council to fix the school system even if the school board does not like it.
There are only about 100 Indian families in the city.
Mathew was the treasurer of the Stafford Economic Development Council and an advisory board member of the Houston Community College, Fort Bend System. He is a past member of the planning and zoning commission of Stafford City. He also worked as the past secretary of the World Malayalee Council, South Texas chapter, and past chief editor of the magazine of the Malayalee Association of Greater Houston.
He arrived in the United States 32 years ago and lived in Detroit for eight years. He earned an MBA from the University of Detroit, and a bachelor of commerce from the University of Bombay. He lives with his wife Leelamma, a registered nurse, and daughters Marina and Susan, both pursuing medical studies.
In Sugarland, the mayor and the two at-large councilors are elected by the whole city with about 42,000 votes. There are four other councilors representing districts and they have to face the electorate next year only. The city administration consists of a mayor and six councilors. The city is predominantly Republican.
Abraham is seeking higher office, though he does not want to leave the current post so soon.
"During my third term I will work even harder. My goal is to take the city to the next higher stage though it is at the top of the nationwide list with many honors and awards," he said.
Abraham, 54, a businessman and resident of Sugar Land from 1989, first contested the election six years ago, but could not win. He was first elected in 2004. He was elected unopposed in 2006 and 2008. He is a mechanical engineer with a master's degree in business, and owns and operates a wholesale distribution company in the air-conditioning, refrigeration and heating industry.