2013 Meet the Candidates Series Continues, Week of May 19th
By Nicole Sanders | The Save Jersey Blog
In my efforts to introduce candidates to the voting public, Save Jerseyans, I started a weekly column titled Meet the Candidates. In essence, it’s a past day stump speech updated for the virtual world.
For this week’s column, I am honored to introduce to you the Edison Mayoral Candidate Sam Khan.
Khan is an Edison business owner who received his Undergraduate and Master’s degree from oversees. Upon arriving in America, he also attended New York Institute of Technology for a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
My interview with candidate Khan is below the fold…
Sanders: What makes you a more viable candidate in comparison to your challengers?
Khan: I’m a more viable candidate than my fellow republicans running in the Edison Mayoral Primary for one simple reason: I can build a winning coalition to elect the first republican mayor of Edison in recent memory. My work with the south Asian community (nearly 43% of Edison’s entire population) has allowed me to share the Republican philosophy with many of my friends and neighbors who normally vote democratic or do not vote at all. Despite 9 out of 10 south Asian voters registering as Democrats, conservatism resonates with them. It just makes sense; South Asian residents are hardworking, churchgoing people who don’t rely on the government for support. Due to lackluster GOP outreach efforts in the past, they just haven’t voted that way.
Sanders: What are your greatest legislative or personal accomplishments?
Khan: I’m an immigrant to this country. I came to America with nothing in my pocket and through hard work and perseverance I’m now living the American dream. I’m a successful small business owner in Edison and have a wonderful family. I believe that through hard work and ingenuity anyone can make something of themselves, no matter where they came from.
I’m also active in my community. As President of South Asian Community Outreach, I organized a 4th of July event in Edison that was attended by over 15,000 people. Edison didn’t have the funds to host an event, so myself along with a few other business owners got together to raise the necessary money needed to make the event a success. As mayor, I’d utilize a combination of my business knowledge and leadership skills to make Edison more affordable for all of our residents.
Sanders: How do you feel your current line of work will help you if you are elected Mayor?
Khan: As a small business owner operating in an environment of high taxes imposed from every level of government along with the remnants of a recession still lingering, I have to watch every dollar I spend and make sure that I’m making wise choices for the long term success of my business. I’d take the same approach and apply it to government. Contrary to popular belief amongst most incumbents in Edison, there is not an infinite supply of taxpayer dollars. The mentality that they can carelessly spend and raise more through increased taxes and fees is crippling families and businesses alike.
As Mayor, I’d treat every taxpayer dollar as if it were my own. I’ll go through Edison’s budget line by line and make the heads of every department thoroughly explain why each expenditure is necessary to the operation of Edison’s government. Waste will be found, government will operate more efficiently and the taxpayers will save greatly if I’m elected.
Sanders: If your constituents wanted to reach out to you and ask you questions about your positions or how to volunteer, who can they reach out to?
Khan: Public servants and those seeking public office should always be available to their constituents. If anyone has any questions about any matter, they can always reach out to me directly on my cell phone at 732-207-3812 or call my campaign office at 732-504-3265. To volunteer or read up on my positions, I encourage everyone to visit my website, samkhanformayor.com.
Sanders: In a short statement, please advise why your constituents should vote for you and what do you want to accomplish in the next four years?
Khan: One party rule has crippled Edison for decades and has left residents with skyrocketing taxes, reckless spending and rampant corruption and nepotism. I’m a candidate who not only shares many of the sentiments shared by Edison voters, but I’m also the only viable candidate who can go up against the entrenched players in our town and win. I can build a winning coalition consisting of members of all parties and ethnicities that will elect me as Mayor so I can work towards lowering taxes, eliminating wasteful spending, and putting Edison on the right track towards being affordable for years to come.
If you are a candidate and interested in being a part of my weekly Meet the Candidates article, email me at nikisands3@hotmail.com.
