Hi Everyone,

Hope you had a great Christmas. Wish all of you and your families a Wonderful 2008.

Here are some updates since the Election:

• I have been working on two ideas to help with the Mt. Lebanon budget for 2008. I have shared these ideas with the Commissioners, Municipal Management and with various groups/boards. The first is with regard to cutting costs and to do this by providing a significant one time bonus (pro-rated in proportion to the savings) to the Municipal management now for cutting operating costs without impacting services or debt; this can only be done after the final budget has been presented. The second is with regard increasing revenue by putting in place a Vision for the Business District, creating grass roots level plans and executing on the same. I have write-ups on both these ideas; so please contact me for details and I will share them with you. (I need to figure out how to post these articles online and put links to them in the blog. Maybe, my good friend, McKeesport Councilman Paul Shelly who is a blog-whiz can help me here!!)
• Pittsburgh Magazine has the 25 most beautiful people in Pittsburgh in their January 2008 edition and I am in this magazine  …  Your disbelief is understandable and you are right :). While I did not make the top 25 list, I am on Page 55 of this magazine. Christine O’Toole is the writer for this article and she lives in the 1st ward; I believe that I knocked on her door prior to the elections and she contacted me after I won. (Knocking on doors has some unforeseen advantages; thanks, Chris!!) Here are the online links to the same: http://www.wqed.org/mag/index.php (Main page of Pittsburgh magazine) and http://www.wqed.org/mag/features/0108/raja.php (Direct link to the article).
• All commissioners are featured in Mt. Lebanon Magazine for January and I am the first one since I represent the 1^st ward. Here is the online link to the same: http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2330.
• The Business mentoring group (that I initiated several months ago) is beginning to show results. The Mt. Lebanon Magazine has a “Business Update” on Mave and their commitment to move to Mt. Lebanon. Here is the link that has this article: http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2349.
• The Swearing in Ceremony is on Jan 7th (Monday) at 8pm at the Mt.
  Lebanon Municipal Building. I invite all of you to attend; hope to see you then. Judge Cashman has graciously agreed to swear me in and I thank him for the same in advance. The first Commission meeting in on Jan 14th (Monday). I am excited to begin work on the Commission and look forward to making a difference.

Happy New Year!!               

                         Raja

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to each and every one of you for your support and encouragement over the past several months. The real job begins now. The analogy that I can think of is that I had interviewed with the residents of the 1st Ward and have now been selected. I am looking forward to focusing on the key items that I had discussed throughout my campaign: Vision and measurable goals for Mt. Lebanon, Reducing taxes without compromising service (or increasing debt) and using Online communication for greater transparency.

In my opinion, the best ideas and solutions come from the residents. Please email me your vision for Mt. Lebanon. I also request that you email me any issues that you see in Mt.t Lebanon along with your solutions to address the same.

I want to thank my Campaign Commitee for not only their enthusiasm and strategic input, but also for the endless hours that were spent going door to door, setting up Meet & Greets, mailing postcards, etc. I have numerous people to thank and I plan on do so individually.  However, I want to thank two people in particular: (i) my wife, Neeta, who did a spectacular job in coordinating many parts of the Campaign and (ii) Campaign Chair, Elaine Warren, who energized the entire group and kept us focused until the very last day => we were scheduled to go door to door even the day before the election!!

Thanks again.

                                   Raja

Hi Everyone,

I have completed my door to door visits for the entire 1st ward. I have been to every house in the 1st ward (I may have missed a few including apartments) over the past 7 weeks. The 1st ward has 7 districts and I covered 1 district per week. The feedback and support has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic.

As you may know, the Commission had appointed me to the Economic Development Board a couple of months ago. I have been able to understand the big picture issues from the Economic Development Board. Going door to door has given me the insight on the day to day issues faced by the residents of the 1st ward.

I was able to discuss both the issues and the possible solutions with the residents. At lot of the questions that I received were like “when will this sidewalk issue addressed, ” when will the leaf pickup issue be resolved, “where can I get information on sexual predators living in Mt. Lebanon”, etc. Given my Information Technology background, my recommendation is to implement an online system where (i) a resident can log an issue and the Municipality can respond on when the issue will be addressed (i.e. the resident will know that their sidewalk issue will be resolved on a certain date that may even be a couple of months out), (ii) post all information on line such as deer culling policies, information on sexual predators, etc and (iii) even broadcast commission meetings on the web. The beauty of an online system is that it is available 24×7 and the residents can get the feedback/update at their convenience.

In my opinion, the best solutions come from the residents and we need to have a way to encourage submission of ideas and solutions online to the Commission. This will improve the two way communication between the Commission and the residents and will improve the customer satifaction of the residents.

I would love to hear from you on solutions to issues faced in Mt. Lebanon along with ideas to improve communication between the Commission and the residents. Thanks.

                     Raja

Hi Everyone,

Please join me in welcoming Elaine Warren as Campaign Chair. As you may all know, Matt & Erin Smith had a baby girl recently. I thank Matt for everything he has done on the Campaign to-date and I wish his family with the new baby the very best. I am energized about Elaine being the Campaign Chair – those of you who know Elaine clearly know why I say “energized”. Elaine will keep me and the rest of the Steering Committee moving at full speed through the next several weeks until the election on Nov 6^th. 

Here are some other general updates: The 1^st Friday on Sept 7^th was a really good success with us handing out balloons as usual outside the Cyclops Building on Washington Road. Please look for us at the South Hills Chamber of Commerce “Cruisin’ Oldies Fest” on Sunday, September 30 from 1 to 5 PM at South Park Wave Pool and at the Sunrise Rotary Club & Mt. Lebanon Police Association’s “Art in the Park” festival on Oct 6/7 in Mt. Lebanon Park.

Overall, I have been getting great feedback from everyone in the 1^st ward. The momentum is building and I will keep you posted. Thanks.           

Raja

I was in India last week and had the opportunity to spend time with my mother, my brother and his family and my niece. Also, attended a 25 year reunion at my high school (Don Bosco) in Chennai. I have not been to India since 2005 and it was great catching up with everyone.

CEI has sponsored a leper colony in 2005 and I visited the same last week. I had heard about the leper colony at an event that was held in Pittsburgh sometime in 2004. Padma Venkatraman is the lady who has setup the program to support leper colonies in India and she has dedicated her life for the past 10 years or so supporting this program and making this a phenomenal success. The reason that I was drawn to support the leper colony two years ago was the two aspects articulated by Padma: (i) The lepers typically did not have a desire to live and this program motivates them to live, (ii) This program does not give the leper a grant instead it provides them a loan and helps them see and achieve success in a short time period. I saw three micro industries that are a big success in the leper colony that I visited this time: (i) Artists (I bought several paintings from them), (ii) Furniture store, (iii) Restaurant (small scale). The lepers seemed happy and motivated and all indicated that being involved in these programs have been a life changing experience for them. I also visited a school for children of lepers that was supported by the funds that CEI gave two years ago. There is an opportunity to CEI to help here with providing computers to the school along with computer based education on a go forward basis.

I got back on Sunday and was happy to see my wife (Neeta) and my kids (Isana & Omisa). Now back to work as usual

                               Raja

The backyard of the Spangenbergs was packed for the August 15th Meet & Greet; about 150 people attended this event. This wine and hors d’oeuvres event (catered by Atria’s) was set around the beautiful backyard in-ground pool. Florrie and Bill Spangenberg were really gracious in setting up this wonderful event; thanks to both of them for the same. Thanks to the Host Committee for inviting the attendees from the 1st Ward to create such an overwhelming turnout.

Matt Smith provided a really nice introduction for me and I have the opportunity to talk about my ideas for Mt. Lebanon to this audience. I talked about some statistics on our taxes and how they have increased along with debt in the past 5 years. I talked about the vision and goals for keeping Mt. Lebanon #1 and a go forward plan without deficit spending; ideas such as bringing in more revenue by attacting startups to Mt. Lebanon and converting Washington Road into a Technology Corridor for knowledge based businesses; improve the quality of the service without increasing taxes or debt by using innovation and technology. Look for a video of my presentation along with photos to be uploaded shortly.

The feedback that I got from everyone was that they felt that this event was a really good success. I had several individuals ask me detailed questions on various local issues after my presentation and these individuals let me know that I had their vote after my responses.

This was my first Meet & Greet event and I was really happy to have the opportunity to meet so many from the 1st Ward. Thanks again to everyone for their support and dedicated efforts.

Raja

I really enjoyed handing out balloons to kids at the car show on July 1st and at the July 4th celebration in Mt. Lebanon Park. I would say that I went from never having filled a balloon with a helium tank to becoming a pro at this over these days. Thanks to everyone who helped with these events and for making them fun; check out the photos on my flicker account. I had lots of people talk to me about my vision for Mt. Lebanon and leave after making a commitment to support me.

 Raja

This was an exciting day for me and my family. I want to thank everyone who helped me on the Primary Election day. My two daughters were there to help dad win the Republican nomination.  Please let me your feedback from the Primary. Thanks for everything.

Raja

This weekend is my first “official” week of public campaigning with door-to-door visits throughout Mount Lebanon’s 1st Ward. I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to visit with you and earn your support.

I’ve spent my professional life building a business right here in the South Hills. While there are important leadership skills and lessons learned in the private sector, campaigning for office is a new adventure for my family and me. That’s why I am especially thankful to the many local Republicans who’ve lent their talents and expertise to this campaign.

I’m looking forward to meeting you in person. I invite you to post your ideas right here, on this website, on ways we can make Mount Lebanon an even better place to live, work and raise a family!

Sincerely,
Raja