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Indian American running for Houston city council
Jay Aiyer believes his non-partisan image will get him elected as the Houston City Councilman-at-large.
Indian American Jay Aiyer believes his non-partisan image will get him elected as the Houston City Councilman-at-large.
Although a Democrat, the 36-year-old is running on a non-partisan platform in a constituency that is home to an ethnically diverse population of 1.8 million.
"I have got tremendous bipartisan support," Aiyer told IANS. This despite the fact that he has been in politics a long time and almost always on the Democratic side of a ticket, whether it was as chief of staff for former Houston mayor Lee Brown, or as legislative aide to state Senator Rodney Ellis, or as treasurer for Congressman Chris Bell.
"The race I am running is non-partisan and I am very committed to running that way," he emphasised.
Always interested in public service, Aiyer said he felt it was time to do something for Houston's citizenry. He has been on the school board of the Houston Community College System since 2001.
"My success politically has been to be able to reach out. So diversity is my strength," he contended.
"I understand government and I've worked in the private sector," he noted. He said he had been endorsed by former mayors Lee Brown and Bob Lanier as well as the Houston Chamber of Commerce.
Aiyer will face two opponents Nov 8 in an open primary. If he gets 50 percent or more of the vote, he is in. But if none of the candidates are able to secure that, all three will go into a runoff election in December.
"This is a real entrepreneurial city which sets it apart from other ones," says Aiyer. "It's not only growing but changing in its makeup. People come here from everywhere else looking for opportunity. There's a real spirit of optimism," he enthused about a city he obviously loves.
He said he has worked with and got the support of Houston's Indian American Political Action Committee, set up 10 years ago, and that he was hoping to reach out to Indian Americans around the country.
"People have to understand there's value in supporting a person from the community even though they may not be in your district."
The London-born Aiyer who came to the US with his parents when he was eight is married to Nirja Sharma Aiyer, a healthcare attorney, and the couple has two children - three-year-old Meera and seven-year-old Naveen.
A graduate of the South Texas College of Law, Aiyer has a bachelors degree from the University of Texas at Austin in government and economics, and a masters degree from the L.B.J. School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
An attorney by training, he has a private practice specialising in immigration and public law. He was previously an attorney with the firm of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, Williams, White and Martin, and worked as a senior management consultant for Deloitte and Touche.
