After losing his seat in the 2013 West Windsor council election, Kamal Khanna is considering his future political options. “After I lost the election, I thought I would take some time off and relax,” he said. “But all I did was sit around and gain weight and watch TV. I was so bored. It is not my way to just relax, so I decided to jump back into politics.”
Following that strategy, Khanna was recently appointed to be the chairman of the West Windsor Democratic Committee, of which he had previously been vice-chair. He was also reappointed as a vice president of the Mercer County Democratic Committee and appointed a representative of the newly formed Southeast Asians of Mercer County Caucus.
“Being involved in all three organizations is very important to me and will be very beneficial to them,” said Khanna. “Their objective is the same — to select and support candidates for office. I will be involved with that and will also serve as a liaison between the three organizations. In addition, I hope to expand the West Windsor Democratic Committee by creating a club, which would host social events and promote Democratic ideals and policies, which would be open to any resident who is a Democrat. But my biggest responsibility will be to fill political vacancies at all levels of government.”
“Of course, one of my primary objectives will be to support Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman in her bid for Rush Holt’s congressional seat. She will make an outstanding member of Congress,” he said
Should she win, who does Khanna believe should be tapped to fill her vacancy on the state assembly? In fact, Khanna himself is interested in the position.
If Coleman is elected, the Mercer County Democratic Committee would vote to appoint her replacement until what would have been the end of her term. In June, 2015, in order to keep the seat, the appointee would have to run in the primary, along with any other interested candidates, and, if successful, in the general election in November. “I don’t know who else is interested in the spot, but, in the likely event that Coleman wins the election, I am interested in being appointed to fill her seat on the assembly.”
“After serving as a councilman for four years, for two years as president, I was really bitten by the ‘public service bug.’ I want to help out my community, my county, my state. As a councilman, I did a lot to help out our town, but there is so much more that can be done to help society, and I want to continue doing this — continue to give back, and on a larger scale,” he said.
“For example, why is the United States ranked lower than other developed nations in education? I see people with limited incomes — how will they ever be able to afford to send their children to college? We need to create options, so that students have access to higher education, which will help our education system as a whole. Or homelessness — I work in New York City, and I see homelessness and poverty every day. Why in this country do we see this?”
“These are just two examples among many issues that I see. I am a doer — a lot can be done, and it should be done,” he added. “I think my background makes me ideally suited for the position. I am a first-generation immigrant who has been educated here, works here, and started my own business here; and I have learned to be a consensus-builder. I proved that as council president — everything went through; nothing was held up or stalled under my watch. I learned that in business — in order to be a successful businessman, you must be able to get along with all people, all the time, even if you disagree with them. That skill is important in business, and it is equally important in public service,” Khanna said.
“Plus, our demographic is changing in this area, and I think it is important to have representatives from people with different backgrounds, to reflect the demographics of our residents. That is what makes this country so great — that a first-generation immigrant such as me can hold public office and can understand and represent all of his constituents. This is another reason why I am interested in the assembly seat, should it become vacant.”
“Moreover,” Khanna said, “my wife and kids agree with my decision, and that is the most important reason of all.”
