RSSIndian community focuses on political action in the state
Daytime burglaries have residents in Fairfax County on edge and seeking answers
Some members of Fairfax County's Indian-American community are making an effort to see that their concerns are heard in Richmond.
On Oct. 29, Ajay Laheri of Fairfax spoke to a crowd of 200 residents at a community meeting in Centreville, addressing an ongoing string of daytime burglaries. "We all have to be more vigilant and do our part. We as the citizenry have to aid in a collaborative effort with law enforcement and public officials," he said to those in attendance.
On Sunday, Laheri focused on the latter part of that effort, organizing and hosting a "meet and greet" at a Chantilly restaurant between members of the Indian community and Marianne Horinko, a Republican candidate for Virginia's 37th District Senate seat -- recently vacated by now-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
"I had actually planned this before the advent of the meeting in Centreville," Laheri said. "I always planned to have a focused dialogue on the burglary issue, but the town meeting happened first."
"I am here not only to speak, but also to listen to the Indian-American community," Horinko, whose daughter is a schoolmate of Laheri's son at Rocky Run Middle School, told event-goers. "There have been so many issues in the Indian-American community in the news lately."
Horinko, 48, served as acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush and is currently is president of The Horinko Group, an environmental consulting firm specializing in public-private partnerships. She calls herself staunchly conservative, deeply religious and pro-life.
Horinko said she became interested in running for state Senate after attending the Jennifer Byler Institute, an organization founded in 2003 by the wives of prominent Virginia Republicans George Allen, Jerry Kilgore and James Gilmore.
According to its Web site, the group's stated mission is to "increase the number of effective Republican women in public service and Party leadership by providing extensive training and support as these women pursue their political and/or professional goals."
Horinko says she welcomes Indian-American voters as a way to maintain Republican control of the Senate's 37th district.
"Republicans lost the last [presidential] election because they didn't use technology in a smart way and they didn't appeal to young people or people from other countries," she said Sunday. "They were the party of old white men, which is doomed--doomed. I am about being open-minded and inclusive."
"These burglaries are occurring at an increasing intensity rate," Laheri said. "Marianne has the background and experience to make a difference, and as far as I know, she's the only one out there asking us what can be done about them."