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"Ever see something wrong with government and say to yourself, ‘if I were a council member I would change?’ I have had that thought on and off over the past 20 years and decided to act on it. So this campaign is on behalf of all of you who wanted to make a difference in your community,” states Daraius Sorabji who is contesting the Campbell City Council elections. Also known as "the orchard city,” Campbell, located in the West Valley of Santa Clara County, encompasses 6.35 square miles, covering a population of 42,696 with a median age of 39 years and per capita income of $ 50,540, according to the website cityofcampbell.com
"If elected to serve you as council member, I would make… Quality of Life… the first principle in my thought process, when evaluating the pros and cons of any issues that come before the Council,” announced Sorabji on his election website www.sorabji4campbell.com "I believe there are too many special interests who want to control a candidate or influence their vote. So to be true to myself, I will not accept any donations and will try to run this campaign with my own funds,” specified Sorabji who owns a software development business for the last 25 years. The election for the seats of three council members who would serve a term of four years will be held on November 6, 2018. Nominations have been received from five candidates, states the council website.
Faced with the challenges of affordable housing, traffic congestion, homelessness and crime, Sorabji states, "I want to keep Campbell the charming and diverse town that my wife Lori and I chose to raise our children 24 years ago… Growth without associated infrastructure improvements impacts our quality of life and gives us less time to focus on our families.”
Having worked as a volunteer at schools where his sons studied and later as a boy scout leader where they train youth to become productive citizens, Sorabji declares, "I believe in community service… The focus on helping other people continues in my professional life as well. I have worked on software for St Jude Medical’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), NeuroPace’s RNS system for treating epilepsy, Autonomic technologies’ neurostimulator to treat migraine and cluster headaches, Nevro corporation’s neurostimulator for treating chronic pain.”

 

 

 

 

Since residents in their area spend nearly 55% of their income on housing, Sorabji felt high density housing with commensurate infrastructure could ease the pressure on communities along the transportation corridors. "When you have to spend an hour going 13 miles, you have to believe that we have a problem with infrastructure,” he stated, recommending use of technology and increasing transit options to improve traffic flow.
Describing himself as a "migrant who values diversity,” Delhi born Sorabji asserted, "Diversity doesn’t mean giving up your values; it means respecting the values of everyone… America has been a melting pot of cultures all throughout history. This diversity, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc are what attracted people to become American.”
In favor of renewable energy, he claimed he was the first to install a home fueling station for his natural gas cars in Campbell. He also advocated the need to move away from single use plastics to more environmentally friendly alternatives.
"The first Parsi name to appear on US election ballot papers for the Bay Area which includes the Silicon Valley city of Campbell is that of Daraius,” Parsiana was informed by his father Rusi.
Elaborating on the entire family’s involvement with the scouting movement, Rusi stated that Daraius’ grandfather Ruttonshaw Batiwala was a scout in Karachi while his grandmother was a girl guide in the Waverly Convent, Mussoorie. Rusi was a cub scout at the time of King George V’s silver jubilee. Rusi’s wife Villy was a girl guide who in the mid 1950s led the girl guide platoon at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. Daraius has been a devoted scout master for 25 years, spending more than three evenings a week on this activity. Lori used to be a cub scout trainer and their two sons are Eagle Scouts.
High in the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, between the Silicon Valley and the Pacific Ocean, Daraius, with the help of his Troop 330 and some two dozen Parsis, including Nazneen Spliedt of the Zarathushti Anjuman of Northern California and Bomi Patel, erstwhile president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America built an open air temple dedicated to all leading faiths, wrote Rusi. For its construction they used material that could be recycled and was suitable for outdoor use. The podium was crafted from a centuries old fallen sequoia tree. Benches were made of recycled plastic bottles, noted Rusi in his email, adding, "There in the midst of nature, surrounded by tall trees, some (over) 1,000 years old, you do not need a prayer book.”