NRI Dr. Rakesh Sharma in the race for Fremont City Council

The filing process in the race for Fremont City Council is past its midway point, and four residents have taken out nomination papers for the Nov. 7 election.

NRI Rakesh Sharma and Planning commissioners Bill Harrison are interested in winning a seat, and incumbent Anu Natarajan has also taken out her papers.

Dr. Rakesh Sharma was appointed to the Fremont Planning Commission in 2002 and has been serving in that capacity to the present time. His term on the commission expires at the end of 2006

This is Sharma's second time vying for the council.

He maintains in this race he will run on the same issues he stressed in 2004. That includes urging the city to produce its own form of revenues.

Sharma said although he did not support the city's attempt at passing a utility users tax in 2002, he said the latest tax measure proposal by the city, set for November's ballot, is on the right track.

"I think the sunset clause in this tax is the most important thing," he said. "And the city has made it more clear that funds are going to specific things like police, fire and maintenance."

Other issues Sharma would address include better communication between city hall and the public; greater economic aspects like quality retail brought to the city; and more affordable housing.

"Affordable housing nowadays does not bring bad people to the city," he said. "It's now used to provide housing to police officers, teachers, and all sorts of people."

Sharma claimed during his last run at Fremont City Council, he garnered 14,000 votes, the highest ever for an Indian-American in Fremont.

Sharma has lived in Fremont for 19 years, and founded the Indo-Americans for a Better Community group. He is also the membership director for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.Filing deadline for the races is Aug. 11.

Dr. Sharma: I was born in India and received my doctorate degree in Clinical Biochemistry in 1976. In 1977, my wife and I left for Japan where I worked at the Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Biology in Hiroshima. In 1979, I came to the United States to work at University of Texas - Dallas, in Texas. I lived there for about one and a half years and then moved to California to work at Stanford Medical School and University where I stayed for about 19 years. My last full time job was at a Caribbean medical school (Saba University School of Medicine in the Antilles) as a Chairman, and Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemistry. Now, I am self-employed. I have been in Fremont for over 16 years and am very committed to the city.

 

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