The Road to City Hall: City Council District 23

Age: 56

Area Serving: District 23

Occupation: Real estate broker

Money Raised Thus Far: Private: $107,952 Public: $84,122

Why did you decide to run for City Council: Singh said it is time for a change from the Weprin family’s control of the district, referring to the Weprin family’s 34-year hold of the district. He believes it is time for South Asians to have a representative in government with the 800,000 South Asians that live in the city.

What are two major issues affecting our community: “Our mayor is obsessed with standardized tests,” Singh said. “The system is screwed up.” Singh said that education is a very important issue and the mayor is stressing too much on tests rather than teaching. “Every kid should be educated,” he said. He also sees caring for the growing number of elderly citizens as important. “We have a big population who are baby boomers,” he said. “Our population of seniors is going to increase tremendously.” If elected, he wants to start a program connecting our youth with the elderly. “They could learn from that experience,” he said referring to the youth. The program would give student’s high school students credit for and help the elderly combat loneliness.

What’s the first thing you would focus on if elected: Singh said he’d focus on education because it “can resolve many of our issues…Education is the one thing that gives you the biggest power.” According to Singh, education increases the participation of minorities into the political system. He’d also like to find a way to help incarcerated people become productive members of this community through education.