Houston, December 12, 2005
NRI press
NRI, UK born, Jay Aiyer, 36,
attorney, Democrat lost to his opponent
Sue Lovell by taking 17, 653 or 49.1 per cent.
18,232 votes or 50.9 percent of the vote compared
to Sue Lovell's. He was defeated by a mere 579
votes in the polls on Sunday for Houston City
Council at-large Position 2
"I felt we ran a good race," Aiyer
said, "We both share some of the same issues,"
Aiyer said he will continue working to preserve
and improve public safety, repair aging infrastructure,
and expand the city's park space.
Houston (Texas), June 24, 2005
IANS
NRI, (Indian American) Jay Aiyer believes his
non-partisan image will get him elected as the
Houston City Councilman-at-large.
Although a Democrat, the 36-year-old is running
on a non-partisan platform in a constituency
that is home to an ethnically diverse population
of 1.8 million.
"I have got tremendous bipartisan support,"
Aiyer told IANS. This despite the fact that
he has been in politics a long time and almost
always on the Democratic side of a ticket, whether
it was as chief of staff for former Houston
mayor Lee Brown, or as legislative aide to state
Senator Rodney Ellis, or as treasurer for Congressman
Chris Bell.
"The race I am running is non-partisan
and I am very committed to running that way,"
he emphasised.
Always interested in public service, Aiyer
said he felt it was time to do something for
Houston's citizenry. He has been on the school
board of the Houston Community College System
since 2001.
"My success politically has been to be
able to reach out. So diversity is my strength,"
he contended.
"I understand government and I've worked
in the private sector," he noted. He said
he had been endorsed by former mayors Lee Brown
and Bob Lanier as well as the Houston Chamber
of Commerce.
NRI Aiyer will face two opponents Nov 8 in
an open primary. If he gets 50 percent or more
of the vote, he is in. But if none of the candidates
are able to secure that, all three will go into
a runoff election in December.
"This is a real entrepreneurial city which
sets it apart from other ones," says Aiyer.
"It's not only growing but changing in
its makeup. People come here from everywhere
else looking for opportunity. There's a real
spirit of optimism," he enthused about
a city he obviously loves.
He said he has worked with and got the support
of Houston's Indian American Political Action
Committee, set up 10 years ago, and that he
was hoping to reach out to Indian Americans
around the country.
"People have to understand there's value
in supporting a person from the community even
though they may not be in your district."
The London-born Aiyer who came to the US with
his parents when he was eight is married to
Nirja Sharma Aiyer, a healthcare attorney, and
the couple has two children - three-year-old
Meera and seven-year-old Naveen.
A graduate of the South Texas College of Law,
Aiyer has a bachelors degree from the University
of Texas at Austin in government and economics,
and a masters degree from the L.B.J. School
of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
An attorney by training, he has a private practice
specialising in immigration and public law.
He was previously an attorney with the firm
of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, Williams, White and
Martin, and worked as a senior management consultant
for Deloitte and Touche
