Meet The Candidate: Nisha Patel For Vienna Town Council

Vienna VA

26 April, 2021

3:16 PM

Description

VIENNA, VA — On May 4, Town of Vienna voters will head to the community center to vote in the Town Council election. Three seats are up for grabs, and four candidates are running. In-person early voting is already underway through April 29, and voters could submit applications for a mail ballot by April 23. As part of its coverage of the May 4 Town of Vienna election, Patch has asked each of the candidates to fill out a questionnaire to describe why they think they're the best person to fill the job they're running for. Candidate: Nisha Patel MD Age (As of May 4 election): 47 Town of residence: Vienna Party affiliation: Town Council in Vienna is a nonpartisan election Family: Snehal, husband; Avni, 13, Arya, 11, Anika, 7, children Education: Fellowship New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Residency in Ophthalmology at University at Buffalo, Internship at Mt Sinai Elmhurst Hospital, Medical Degree from St George's University, Masters in Pharmacology from University at Buffalo, Undergraduate degree from Tufts University. Occupation: Physician, Ophthalmologist Campaign website: www.patelforvienna.org Why are you seeking reelection for Town Council? I ran for Town Council two years ago to address issues such as commercial development, traffic, walkability and parking. I am committed to completing my goals with the zoning update, which will impact our quality of life. I want to continue to guide the town through the pandemic and help rejuvenate our local business district. I want to assist in implementing a sidewalk network on streets in town that are high priority and eligible for sidewalks through the sidewalk master plan and the Robinson trust and that will align with the residents' requests. I want to continue to wisely allocate our taxpayer dollars responsibly and maintain a balanced budget. Most importantly, I want to continue to advocate for residents in Town so they have a voice in our local government. What do you believe is the Town's role to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic? In the near future it is important to maintain strong fiscal management of the town budget and realize that the pandemic and its effects are not over. We need to be prepared for whatever comes our way. Remaining fiscally conservative over the next 12 months is a good start. We need to continue to allow virtual meetings and employees to work from home when necessary and allow businesses to continue to function outdoors. We need to lead by example and create a safe environment for our community. What is the single most pressing issue facing the Town aside from the pandemic? There are many pressing issues facing the Town. It is impossible to pick one, but I can comment on a few. Our traffic needs to be addressed and synchronizing the traffic lights and implementing smart controls on Maple is a great start. Our water and sewer pipes are aging and need to be replaced. Our real estate taxes continue to rise as assessments go up and we need to accommodate for that by lowering the local tax burden. Finally, we need to address the commercial zoning issues that were created by the former MAC zoning and create a code that is more aligned with Vienna's family friendly character. What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the use of taxpayer dollars in the Town of Vienna? I believe in being fiscally responsible. We need to use taxpayer dollars for the greatest good and to maintain essential services such as trash collection, leaf collection, snow removal, sidewalk and street maintenance to name a few. It is also great to be able to support family friendly town events throughout the year. We need to maintain and update our water and sewer infrastructure and continue to maintain our streets and sidewalks and strive for traffic mitigation. We need to invest in making Vienna a more walkable, bikeable family oriented town. What are your views on development along the Maple Avenue corridor? Future commercial development should have adequate green space and reasonable height and density. We need to preserve our existing commercial zone and stop exchanging commercial space for residential along Maple Avenue. We can promote smart growth on maple without sacrificing the character of the town, which will hopefully be accomplished with the zoning code update. How would you describe the Town of Vienna police department's relationship with the community? Are there changes you would like to make? The Town of Vienna is fortunate to have its own police department. The priority and focus of the police department should be to maintain our safety and integrate into the community. The relationship between the police department and citizens should be friendly and non intimidating. We need protection against car burglaries and petty theft. Police officers should be focused on helping people with domestic issues and keeping our Town free of crime. I would like to see less ticketing and more warnings for law abiding citizens who may not realize that their tags are expired or they are unaware and first time offenders of the town ordinance. Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. I am about the people. I will never assume to know more than the citizens in this town because they are smart and engaged. I am simply a representative of their concerns and will always strive to help the greatest good. It is impossible to make everyone happy with all of the decisions made as a Councilmember but it's important that the citizens be heard. I advocate for citizen engagement and transparency and feel that I have contributed to making vast improvements in that regard since my time on the Vienna Town Council. How can residents contact you with their concerns and views, and how will you keep residents updated about your work? Citizens are encouraged to email @ [email protected] or message me on Facebook @ patelforvienna. My website is patelforvienna.org, where you can learn more. I will continue with social media posts for any town updates and events so please like and follow patelforvienna on Facebook. Other Candidate Profiles: Meet The Candidate: Howard Springsteen For Vienna Town CouncilMeet The Candidate: Steve Potter For Vienna Town CouncilMeet The Candidate: David N. 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