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

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

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

Connell Residence; 515 Lyndhurst Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216

Wine & Hors d’oeuvres; Casual Dress

Shepherd Residence; 520 Bower Hill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228

Wine & Hors d’oeuvres; Casual Dress

Sharon Residence; 334 Morrison Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15243

Wine & Hors d’oeuvres; Casual Dress

Grace Compton’s residence

Wine & Hors d’oeuvres

Casual Dress