Jasbinder Singh
Office Sought: Herndon Mayor
Age: 64
Residence: Herndon.
Education: BA, civil engineering, Indian Inst. of Technology; MS, civil eng., pursuing PhD, public policy, Carnegie Mellon.
Occupation: President, Policy Planning & Evaluation Inc.; part owner, Jando Trucking.
Web site:http://www.singhformayor.org
E-mail address: singh@singhformayor.org
Offices and positions held: Active in the Washington Buddhist Vihara Society.
What is the most urgent problem facing your jurisdiction?
Other than illegal immigration and economic uncertainty, we face the effects of actual and potential foreclosures on the one hand, and high property assessments on the other. While houses on many streets lie vacant or are in foreclosure, the prices of neighboring homes have declined substantially: People have lost equity in their homes. Yet the county assessments are unreasonably high and promise to extract unfairly high taxes from residents. The government has to spend money to ensure that the vacant homes are not vandalized and are maintained adequately. The enforcement of overcrowding laws promises to increase the foreclosures.
Why should voters elect you?
I will take steps to reduce long-term tax burden; promote fiscal responsibility; initiate policies to make Herndon efficient and unique; integrate legal immigrants into society.
What steps, if any, should your county take to mitigate the affects of a slowing economy?
The ill effects of foreclosures will last many years. We should find ways to make government more efficient, reduce expenditures and initiate policies that limit yearly tax revenue increases to the rate of inflation.
What is your position on illegal immigration and the affect it has had on your county?
Nobody should be able to walk across our borders at will. At the local level, illegal immigration has affected our cultural, social, and economic values and imposed costs. We must undertake policies that are cost-effective.
In March, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the transportation package passed by lawmakers last year unconstitutional, endangering major projects across the region. What steps, if any, should the county, region and state take to address funding issues for transportation projects?
I believe the elected officials should explain the nature, breadth and depth of the transportation problem to the public, discuss alternative short-term and long-term solutions with the public and build support for the financing.
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