Editorial Board Endorsement: Sam Joshi for Mayor of Edison, NJ

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As the largest Indian-American and South Asian publication in the United States, the editorial boards of News India Times, Desi Talk, and Gujarat Times are endorsing Council Vice President Sam Joshi for Mayor of Edison.

Sam Joshi has the experience, knowledge, relationships, and passion to be an excellent Mayor of Edison. He’s been a known local activist for more than a decade. During the Great Recession in 2009, Joshi brought to light municipal waste through a series of Council meetings.

In 2011, Joshi was dispatched by the Mayor as a community liaison to calm animosity between Oak Tree Road business owners and Veterans throughout New Jersey when racial tensions rose from an incident and he successfully brought both groups together.

In 2014, Joshi spearheaded and rallied a movement with hundreds of residents when a series of burglaries targeted South Asians. Joshi had also called for police reform. During his time on the Council, Joshi pushed for and passed a plan to rebuild the Edison library without tax increases. He has consistently voted against tax increases while providing alternative funding solutions.

Joshi has served as an elected Councilman since 2018, and is serving his second consecutive term as Vice President of the Edison Council, the third highest ranking official in Edison. He served on the Zoning Board of Adjustment for two years and Fair Rental Housing Authority for five years prior. He also worked in Edison Police Central Command as a 911 Officer for one year. Joshi served as an intern with Mayor George Spadoro in 2004 and was later hired by Mayor Jun Choi.

Joshi’s 17-years of experience in various positions in Municipal government gives him the insight to bring about changes where needed, and the network he has built over this period will help him to do so.

His plans are ambitious. They include multiple public-private partnerships to rebuild the parks, address the overcrowding crisis in the school system with a new school, build a Marina along the unused 7 mile Raritan River to generate income, launching municipal broadband to offset the Optimum monopoly in the hope of bringing in new revenue, redevelop neighborhoods such as Woodbridge Ave.

Edison is the largest melting pot of diversity and culture in New Jersey, and it is where Sam was born and raised and where he could bridge cultural gaps between communities.