Four term councilman Saji George has been elected as mayor of the upscale Sunnyvale Township in Texas in the special election held on May 5. He got 54 percent of the votes polled while the nearest opponent Karen Hill received 33 percent votes.
The town is administered by a mayor and five member council. The mayor will hold the office for one year.
George has served on the Town Council for eight years and was named as Mayor Pro Tem for the last three years. Sunnyvale is 15 miles away from Dallas with a population of more than 5000 people.
As Mayor, George will be committed to keeping Sunnyvale safe, protecting its rural atmosphere, and attracting desirable businesses (grocery, restaurants, shopping.) He opposes high-density developments and wants to protect green spaces and preserve rural atmosphere.
As a councilman, he actively campaigned for starting a high school in the township, which was materialized later. He also actively worked to solve several major issues. No wonder, he got elected to the council with the highest number of votes in successive elections.
He is the only Indian elected to office in the town and feels happy that ethnicity or race was never a factor in the elections. About 12 percent of the population in the township is Asian, mostly Indians. About 600 of the 700 Indian voters went to booths to elect the mayor.
“My personal philosophy is that when people believe they can make a difference, they usually do. An ordinary citizen can participate in this process and, in so doing, become a part of something extraordinary,†he said earlier
He faced the voters with a proven track record which included lower taxes.
Another one was setting up of a one million gallon water tank to meet water needs of the town. The town is in excellent financial health with AA- bond rating.
He also opposed more apartments in the township to protect the quality of life. New businesses were opened and millions were spent on road work. As mayor, his immediate concerns are development of the infrastructure as well as the projects already underway.
Back in India, George was an engineer with the Indian Space Research Organization. After earning a masters degree in engineering from Texas Tech University, and later an MBA, he continued to work as a technocrat in the US.
It was rare for such a person to in to public service. “It all happened. I wanted to give back to the society which gave us a lot. It was natural that I got involved in local issues,†he said earlier.
George said and his wife of 23 years, Dr Jaya have lived in Sunnyvale with their two college-going children Anne and Andrew since November 2000. He has over 20 years of experience in engineering and management of production operations and technical and management teams for a major multi-national corporation based in the Dallas area. He was honored to have been recognized on multiple occasions for high performance and inclusive management style.
He is a member of St. Paul’s Mar Thoma Church in Mesquite
