LONG ISLAND, NY (TIP): Indian American Voters Forum of Long Island made history when its panel consisting of prominent community leaders interviewed the two leading candidates running for election as Supervisor for the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York – Marc Herman, the Democratic nominee and his opponent, the Republican incumbent Joseph Saladino. The purpose of the first ever such interviews by any ethnic group was to “prescreen the candidates and determine their election platform and experience as well as their understanding of the issues important to the Indian American community”, said Dr. Sunil Mehra, a veteran member of the Forum.

Varinder Bhalla, chairman of the Indian American Voters Forum, moderated the interviews and was joined by Dr. Ajay Lodha, former President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Dr. Yashpal Arya, a philanthropist,  Dr. Sunil Mehra, former President of AAPIQLI, Animesh Goenka, former President of AIA, Ratna Bhalla, former Deputy Commissioner of Nassau County, Gunjan Rastogi, Vice President of the India Association of Long Island (IALI), Sunil Modi, former President of AIA NY Chapter, Gobind Bathija, founder President of the Hicksville based Asa Mai Temple, Beena Kothari, former IALI President, Vijay Verma, a Hicksville based entrepreneur, and Govind Gupta, a community activist and IALI executive member.

Herman, a successful businessman, formerly President of the Syosset School District and now serving on the faculty and the medical ethics committee of Hofstra School of Medicine cited many concerns about corruption in the Town of Oyster Bay. “I am running for Town Supervisor because I am fed up with corruption and the big mess in our town government, and upset that for decades, the town officials have used our tax dollars as their personal piggy bank”, Herman said. “I would fight to end the culture of corruption, ensure complete transparency of all financial matters, end the era of nepotism and patronage and ensure merit based appointments so qualified Indian Americans and other minority groups could serve in the Town government.”

What about his administrative and governmental skills especially dealing with a town budget of nearly $300 million? “As President of Syosset School District, I oversaw a

a budget near in size to the budget of the Town of Oyster Bay, and dealt with some of the same issues that face our Town; union contract negotiations and pay scales, transportation network, vehicle deployment, snow removal, athletic field construction, budgeting and debt management.”

“During my tenure as school board President, the Syosset schools were rated amongst the top schools in the New York and the nation while maintaining the highest bond ratings possible, with every budget balanced and under the State tax cap.”

“Herman has met with several business leaders and community activists in Hicksville in recent weeks and seems to have garnered wide support from the Indian American community”, Animesh Goenka, former President of AIA said while Rajesh Kumar of Bengali Sweets echoed the same sentiments.

Herman’s opponent, Joseph Saladino was appointed Town Supervisor to replace his longtime predecessor who resigned in January after being arrested on federal corruption charges. Saladino, who served as New York State Assemblyman since 2004, told the Forum panel “I will make the Town government live within its means, while continuing to deliver top notch municipal services. I will work to gain the faith and trust of our residents by providing transparency and improving efficiency.” Herman disagreed and said only the voters can change the culture of corruption in a town dominated by Republicans for so many years.

“The consensus among all members of the panel was that Marc Herman is an outsider, with sufficient business and administrative experience and is well prepared to take the reins of the Town and move it in a new direction and is therefore our choice for the next Supervisor,” Vijay Verma said while enthusiastically introducing Herman to community leaders and business associates in Hicksville.

Indian American Voters Forum is a bipartisan committee of community activists, not beholden to any political party. Founded in 2003, the Forum has conducted debates among candidates running in the local elections and fueled political activity in the community. Earlier, the Forum had also interviewed Legislator Laura Curran, Democratic nominee for Nassau County Executive. “We are most proud of our successful drive to recruit congressional leaders into the India Caucus”, says Dr. Arya.

(Based on a Press Release by Varinder Bhalla)