To the Editor:

When deciding to vote for a candidate for any office, I make an assessment of their demonstrated values, the positions that they have actively taken over time, and their accomplishments. I am not impressed by the freshness of faces that ascend to simply present change or a symbolic gesture. I am leery of those who want to use local office as a stepping stone to higher office. I tend to go on what is a known quantity based on a candidate’s engagement, knowledge, substance, consistency, and effectiveness. Dr. Surinder Sharma is that candidate.

Surinder Sharma’s candidacy is borne out of his extensive understanding of and longtime contributions to a broad range of community-wide issues. I admire his persistence in probing issues to understand how to offer solutions. His observations and recommendations during this campaign season alone exhibit the same can-do approach he has applied to extremely complicated problems that he has solved. In our interest as taxpayers, he challenges the status quo on how to think broadly about budgeting and where to find opportunities for cost reductions. I want a Council person who delves deeply and takes a stand that we can do better on many levels.

Surinder exhibits a real intelligence and vigor, does his homework, and can convey his thoughts and suggestions with clarity, just as we would expect him to as a rocket scientist! He researches issues beyond the limits of tradition and local experiences. He looks for the obvious and outside the box to identify the best practices or non-traditional approaches. For example, when in a casual conversation with a friend about her desire to access a favorite local radio station while traveling outside of the signal area, he, along with two colleagues, set out to use their satellite communications experience to develop what is now Sirius radio! By example, he consulted stakeholders and professionals to fully understand the problem. His approach to civic engagement is much the same in that, he considers greater community and neighborhood perspectives for the greater good of our environment, economy, and all of humanity.

Surinder is independent-minded and recognizes through testing and analysis, one must be open to options, opportunities, and the unexpected. He is learned, having recently earned his PhD in business management of engineering and technology. He is pragmatic, able to address issues by making the most of simple to complex solutions. He has been particularly engaged at the municipal level in TV30 and the Complete Streets Committee, but on a broader level, he has also volunteered to positively impact our immigrant populations. He is adamant about the municipality doing more with its own assets to maximize the production of affordable housing, a suggestion that could also reduce population forecasts that are influencing the expansion of our school system.

Surinder’s background and experience exhibits the traits of a highly effective person. He has engaged many citizens in understanding the details of issues beyond the superficial. He is a multilateral thinker, rather than one who stays on a single track. Therefore, I will be going to the polls on June 5 to vote for Surinder Sharma as the best candidate for Princeton Council in the best interest of our community. I ask that you do the same.

Yina Moore

Former Mayor, Princeton Borough, Green Street