RITU JHA-
Sridhar Verose has become the first Indian American to be elected councilmember in the city of San Ramon, California.
Verose, who won from District 3 of San Ramon, told indica News that the real work would begin now.
Verose’s community service and engagement started in 2016, when he became commissioner of San Ramon Parks and Community Services.
Known more for his community service than as the software engineer he is, Verose’s council race was not easy. He had to defeat Varun Kaushal, Reza Majlesi and Sameera Rajwade to earn 46.31 percent of the votes.
“Being a councilmember is definitely a much bigger responsibility. Getting elected by people means all these people believe in me and that is a beautiful thing — when you are recognized for your work,” Verose told indica News.
San Ramon, under Contra Costa County, is around 34 miles east of San Francisco. The population of San Ramon is 75,945 according to the US Census in 2010, and 45 percent of its residents are Asians.
District 3 covers large areas of the Dougherty Valley and Bollinger Canyon Road, home to many Asian Americans.
Asked what was the biggest lesson he learned during is five-and-half month campaign, Verose said it was the importance of being “emotionally strong.”
“Every day you get something good and bad comments and so you have to be very emotionally strong to handle all kinds of comments,” said Verose.
He said social media has made the campaign hard, since people keep commenting.
Asked about his priorities, Verose said that Covid-19 is a big concern.
“First of all I want to work with the county to make sure and get updated on the testing kits and also how they are working on the distribution of the vaccine if it is coming, “ Verose said.
“I have to work on mental health issues and that is an another important part of Covid-19 recovery. Definitely, I will start communicating with the community members and focus on community engagement.”
He said one of the biggest challenges in this election was reaching out to people personally.
“I love to meet people, talk to people and learn about them,” said Verose, who was born in India, came to the US in 1997, and did his masters in software engineering from San Jose State University.
He works as senior manager, Cloud Operations, Open Text, Inc.
He is the founder of the San Ramon Cricket Association (SRCA), a founding member and steering committee member of San Ramon Diversity Coalition, and a core committee member of San Ramon Culture in Community.
He told indica News in a previous interview that he wanted to bring changes in the way San Ramon spends its money.
