Harish Jajoo will:
ELECT
• Run the City of Sugar Land more like a business • Focus on the bottom line, streamline services, become more efficient, and improve customer service for Sugar Land residents • Enhance city services through innovation, technology, and a dose of common sense in government
JajooForSugarLand.com f facebook.com/HarishJajoo t @harishjajoo VOL 9 No. 18
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Harvest Green gets first resident County elections department upgrades website for election day search
When Margie McKay first learned of Harvest Green and its plans to become Houston’s first community focused on gardening and fresh produce, she knew it was where she wanted to live. “The idea of growing my own vegetables and living in a community with gardening and farming right outside my back door really appealed to me.” McKay didn’t waste any time. She signed a contract for a new home by Plantation Homes and just recently, became Harvest Green’s first resident. Margie McKay (second from left), Harvest Green’s first resident, receives a special welcome home from Kelly Theisen of Plantation Homes (far left), Debbie Marcell of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene and Harvest Green General Manager Shay Shafie. For more information, go to www.HarvestGreenTexas.com
SMSD coach Mesa dies at 26
The Stafford Municipal School District is shocked and saddened to learn of the death of a faculty member who was also a coach, mentor, father, friend and community leader. Stafford High Head Baseball Coach Michael Mesa passed away unexpectedly at age 26 on April 29, Friday night. He had just completed a game of Paintball with his family, when he collapsed. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.. Mesa’s players held a Candlelight Vigil in his honor at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Stafford High baseball field, 1625 Staffordshire Road in Stafford. The Stafford High Athletic Booster Club opened the concession stands during the Candlelight Vigil, and all proceeds went to the Mesa Family. Stafford MSD has decided to dedicate its upcoming Cinco De Mayo program in Mesa’s honor, and a Moment of Silence will be observed prior to the presentation on Wednesday morning. Mesa, a 2008 Stafford High graduate, taught Spanish at Stafford Middle and High Schools. “Michael Mesa was one of the most respected teachers and coaches on campus, and in the community,” Stafford MSD Superintendent Dr. Robert Bostic said.
Mesa “We are going to miss the leadership, dedication and positive attitude that he brought to both the High School and Middle School campuses. We will do everything we can to support Michael Mesa’s family at this extremely difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mesa Family, as well as the hundreds of students, colleagues and community members who were fortunate enough
to consider Michael a mentor or friend.” In 2014, Mesa became one of the youngest head baseball coaches in the State of Texas when he was promoted at age 25 -- after just one season as an assistant coach. He also coached the Stafford Middle School Football Team. Mesa was born on October 4, 1989 and grew up in Stafford where he was a proud Spartan student-athlete. Out of respect for Coach Mesa, the District will close his classroom for the remainder of the school year. The Stafford High baseball program will also retire Mesa’s No. 11 jersey, which he wore as a player and as a coach at SHS. As a senior, Mesa was named an all-district catcher, and was recognized for his efforts by media outlets as far away as Victoria -- more than 100 miles south of Stafford. His success on the baseball field drew the attention of Huston-Tillotson University, where he went on to play catcher at the college level. Mesa put SMSD and community first. Earlier this month, he led a group of players to volunteer at the annual Classic Chevrolet Chili Cookoff.
On May 7, Fort Bend County will debut an enhanced search tool designed to make it easier for voters to find an Election Day voting center. When voters visit the Election webpage www.fortbendvotes.org and select Election Day Information, they will be taken to a map displaying the location of all county polling locations open for that election. The pins on the map are now color coded to reflect anticipated wait times at each location. If a voter clicks on a site it will display additional information including a detailed map of the location as well as driving directions. Information can be updated during the day based upon the number of voters casting ballots each hour as well as reports from poll workers of the number of persons waiting in line. According to Fort Bend County Elections Administrator, John Oldham, the enhanced web site is a collaborative effort
between his office and the Fort Bend County Office of Information Technology. “We hope voters will find this to be a useful tool to locate Election Day voting centers. Our goal is help voters make an informed decision about where they can vote by balancing travel time against anticipated wait times,” Oldham said. “We appreciate the effort of the Fort Bend County IT Department to help us bring this tool to our voters at no cost to our taxpayers” he added. The election information can be accessed from either a desktop or mobile device. Polling places for both the May 7 local elections and the May 24 Primary Runoff Election are currently available on the Elections Department website. Fort Bend County adopted a county wide polling place program in 2015 which allows eligible voters to cast a ballot at any county voting center open in a given election.
Early voting Meanwhile in the first seven days of early voting for the local city and school board elections, a total of 5,364 have voted in FBISD election. In Sugar Land City Council elections, 2,891 have voted and in Missouri City 1,522 have voted in the first week of early voting. Two more days of early voting remained before the May 7 election. Countywide, in early voting by mail 2,452 ballots have been received as of April 29. Two precincts have returned the highest number of mail in ballots, both in the Quail Valley subdivision in Missouri City. In Pct. 4030, 218 mail in ballots were requested and 147 have been returned and in Pct. 4028, 224 ballots were requested and 141 have been returned. The highest mail in ballot return is in Sugar Creek where 203 have been requested and 110 returned. —SESHADRI KUMAR
Sugar Land politics spills over to mosque By SESHADRI KUMAR Politicians appearing before congregations in religious institutions is not uncommon, especially if candidates happen to be members of a church, temple or mosque. But, the Sugar Land city election campaign this year overtly reached a popular mosque in New Territory and flyers were distributed by a Sugar Land Muslim activist against a mayoral candidate. Also, Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Constable Trever Nehls went to the mosque, and introduced the candidates whom he endorsed to the gathering after the Friday prayer. The New Territory mosque has become a fertile ground for some local politicians to woo Muslim voters. Recently, after the San Bernardino terrorist attack, elected officials, law enforcement officials and FBI agents from Houston arranged a meeting to assure the members of the mosque that the local law enforcement and government officials would protect them from any reprisals. Turning to the latest incident, Sugar Land mayoral candidate Harish Jajoo had gone to the mosque two weeks ago and addressed the congregation on a Friday.
Last week, Jajoo went to the mosque again to meet and greet the members after the Friday prayer. But Jajoo got the message that his presence was not welcome at that time as he had already had a chance to address the audience and now, another group of candidates was going to be at the mosque. As Jajoo came out to meet the members leaving the mosque after the prayer, inside Constable Nehls introduced Mayoral candidate Joe Zimmerman and atlarge council candidates Himesh Gandhi and Mary Joyce. In the absence of Mary Joyce, her husband Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Justin Joyce represented her at the mosque. Myatt Hancock, another mayoral candidate and Naomi Lam, candidate for at-large council seat No. 2 were also present. As Jajoo was meeting the mosque members, Farha Ahmed, who was defeated in a bitter electoral battle with Harish Jajoo for the Sugar Land District 4 council seat in 2011, was distributing a flyer, urging voters why Jajoo was not her choice for mayor. The flyer was titled “I wish I could vote for Harish Jajoo, but I can’t.” The flyer read: “As the face of the City, the Mayor’s char-
acter is of primary importance. I see the city as the beneficiary of diversity and progressive thinking. Along with our diversity, and just as relevant, is the need to foster an environment of inclusiveness, tolerance and respect. “In 2011, when Farha Ahmed ran for City Council along with Harish Jajoo, there was one incident that took place that did not live up to these ideals. Unfortunately, this incident, negatively impacted our diverse Sugar Land communities and families by making them feel targeted and vulnerable. What really left an impression on me was the number of people who felt deterred from running for office afterwards, because of the dirty games played in 2011.” The incident that Ahmed refers to was the distribution of an anonymous mailer that linked Ahmed to a high-profile convict, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, also known as Lady Al Quaida. Ahmed did not deny or clarify her connection to Siddiqui at that time because “the smear campaign would continue with questions not connected to her platform,” she said. Ahmed had a benign connection with Dr. Siddiqui, on a humanitarian ground, but she See MOSQUE, Page 3