Harpreet Singh Sandhu
Harpreet Singh Sandhu an Amritdhari Sikh was appointed in January 2007 as the first Asian to serve as a member of the Richmond, California city council. A well known Sikh Activist in the Bay area he has served as the President of El Sobrante Gurdwara Sahib's management council for many years. Richmond, located just north of Berkeley, is a major city of over 100,000 people located just across the bay from the City of San Francisco.
Mr. Singh was sworn in on January 16, 2007 in the presence of Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, members of the California Sikh community and city officials gathered at City Hall. During the swearing-in ceremony Harpreet Singh said, "I will work not only for the development of the city but also for the country". He ended his speech with the Sikh daily prayer "Nanak Naam Chardikala Tere Bhane Sarbat Da Bhalla", explaining the meaning of Sarbat Da Bhalla: "For the Good of All". He was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Gayle McGlaughlin when she became mayor.
Democratic National Convention
Sandhu was elected to represent Congressional District 7 as a delegate for Senator Obama at the National Democratic Convention held in Denver. During one of the speeches my wife and I were happy to see the camera zoom in on California's delegation which included a Sikh - though at the time we had no idea who he was (user:Allenwalla). Harpreet a Delegate at the DNC Convention, there to cast his vote for Obama. Posted on youtube at [1]
Support in the recent Election
His family moved to Berkeley in 1968 and he made the move to Richmond in 1979.
California State Attorney General who was once the Governor of California and Oakland's Mayor, Jerry Brown, endorsed Richmond City Councilman Harpreet Sandhu in his race to be elected to the Richmond City Council.
Attorney General Brown, cited Richmond City Councilman Sandhu’s work on behalf of the Democratic Party and his stances on the environment and crime as the reasons for his support.
Many former Mayors, state and county officials including Contra Costa County Sheriff, Warren Rupf endorsed Councilman Harpreet S.Sandhu's bid for his council seat.
In a press release on Nov. 11, 2008 Mr. Singh who ran as a candidate in this year's election (a hotly contested race which saw ten candidates, four of whom were incumbents, running for the three available seats) thanked everyone who had contributed to his campaign. Though he failed to keep his seat, he stated that he was, "proud of our campaign. It built a great deal of name recognition for me in the city and increased awareness of Richmond’s Sikh community. It built a great deal of name recognition for me in the city and increased awareness of Richmond’s Sikh community. …I am incredibly thankful for all of this assistance and humbled by the outpouring of support."
El Sobrante Gurdwara Sahib
Driving North on Interstate I-80, my wife an I were on our way to a Gurdwara hoping to meet with Mr. Singh, who a bookstore owner in Berkeley had sent me to see. We had always seen the Gurdwara with its shining Golden Domes high on the hillside over looking the San Francisco Bay and had always wanted to stop.
External links
Harpreet at DNC Convention representing Obama on youtube at [2]
Harpreet being interviewed at DNC convention on youtube at [3]
References
Richmond City Council Agenda January 23, 2007, City of Richmond website, January 23, 2007, retrieved August 22, 2007
