This Election Day may bring with it the biggest upset in the history of Western New York politics: UB civil engineering professor Satish B. Mohan, a political neophyte, is challenging eight-year incumbent Susan Grelick in a race for Amherst Supervisor.
Should he prevail on Nov. 8, Mohan said he promises nothing short of revolutionizing the way business is done in the Amherst local government.
"Politics is derived from the Greek word polis, which means 'for the people,' " Mohan said. "Politicians have become self-serving, and government is plagued by inefficiencies and mismanagement. I will take the word 'politics' back to its original meaning."
Despite his recent victory over career politician Dirk D. Rabenold in a Republican primary, Mohan faces an uphill battle in his race against a more politically experienced incumbent. In fact, he has never served in any significant governmental position.
"This will definitely be a challenging project for me, but I have managed many large projects successfully," Mohan said. "I don't take money from the bigwigs, lobbyists or political action committees; I will spend one hundred thousand dollars of my own savings to run my campaign. So, there wouldn't be any compromise on goals and objectives: I will run this town to serve the taxpayers."
One of the foremost ideas on Mohan's reform agenda involves a 15 percent cut in town taxes. To offset the expected revenue loss, the professor wants to slash government spending by 10 percent. However, under his plan, the level and quality of services will remain unchanged, because the reduction in expenditures can, in his view, be achieved through better management.
"We waste millions of dollars from the litigation caused by homes sinking and getting flooded. In the construction of the sewage plant, we did business at twice the cost," he said.
To revitalize the local economy, the professor vows to create a high-tech light manufacturing industry in Amherst. To do this, he plans to designate a portion of the town as an industrial zone. The next phase of this plan calls for a conference for contractors, small businesses and faculty members from local universities. Mohan envisions the businesses and institutions of higher education working together to generate much-needed jobs for the local community.
"My plan is to start these industries using venture capital," he said. "The town will facilitate and establish co-opt programs with all Western New York colleges and universities. The faculty and students can all lend their skills and knowledge."
Mohan also said he thinks this industrial park can help reduce flight of educated young professionals from the western New York area.
"Our college graduates are forced to leave due to the lack of jobs," he said. "The decline of intellectual capital is not good for the quality of life in any town. (Under my plan), a good proportion of students will be employed by the light manufacturing industry. This will help stop the 'brain drain' in this area."
Because of his ambitious plans to expand employment opportunities for future college graduates, Mohan said he feels UB students have much to gain if he is elected. He also believes that students have a responsibility to help change their government for the better.
"All citizens, including students, have to take care of the social environment around them, and the local government is the first entity that defines the quality of life," he said.
Tarun Singh, a graduate student in the environmental engineering department, said he thinks Mohan's activist message appeals to him.
"I know him well. He is a very hardworking man," Singh said. "If I could, I would vote for him, because we can expect something good from him if he's elected."
As a member of the UB community, Mohan has support from many students on campus.
"While most of us are crying that this is not good or that is not good, Professor Mohan is actually doing something about it," said Vaishali Jain, a graduate student in the environmental management department. "I definitely support him, because he has some great ideas to keep all the graduates employed locally."
Additionally, the UB professor said he believes that he can use his lifetime of experience in the field of civil and environmental engineering to protect Amherst residences from further sinking and flooding.
"Amherst is sinking into the soil," Mohan said. "Houses are getting flooded. Two thousand homes have sinkage problems. All this is because the town does not have an approved master plan for development."
Mohan said he feels that if elected he will take the necessary actions to alleviate this problem.
"I have taught construction and project management and transportation management, and I was a project manager for fifteen years," he said. "After I take over, no house will ever sink, no house will ever get flooded. These are basic engineering problems for which solutions exist."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
