Election 2022: Rajesh Mohan, Holmdel Township Committee

HOLMDEL, NJ — Independent Rajesh Mohan is one of four candidates seeking two full-term seats on the Holmdel Township Committee in the Nov. 8 general election.

In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues. Patch will publish individual profiles, leading to the election.

Rajesh Mohan said personal security is the priority of residents as the trend in car thefts has grown, and he said he would encourage the smart use of technology and collaboration with law enforcement. A medical doctor, Mohan said he would like to see more attention given to senior citizens in the township, including exploring "doorstep" health care. And he said he would encourage transparency in government transactions.

Read more from candidate Rajesh Mohan:

Name: Rajesh Mohan

Age: 58

Town of residence: Holmdel

Position sought: Member, Holmdel Township Committee

Are you an incumbent or previous governing member?: No

Party affiliation: Independent

Campaign website: https://mohanroth4holmdel.com/

Family: Wife, Nandini Mohan (MS, Computer Science from New York University; son Yuvraj Mohan YUVRAJ, quantum engineer (BSE, MSE. University of Pennsylvania); son Vishvajit Mohan (BBA., JD L3, George Washington University)

Education: Board Certified cardiologist and MBA (MD, MBA,FACC,FSCAI)

Occupation: Cardiologist

Name the top issues currently facing your town and how you plan to address them:

• Security. Several Holmdel residents have conveyed to me personally how apprehensive and anxious they are about the apparent gaps in our security environment in Holmdel. Increased car thefts are an indicator, with Holmdel being in the midst of this dangerous trend.

With most cars being programmed with garage door openers, a potential home break-in keeps many people up at night. Many parents are concerned about allowing their children to be in previously open and safe neighborhoods.

Solutions to many such security issues can be effectively addressed by smart use of technology, surveillance, and collaboration with law enforcement.

• Accountability, transparency and reduce taxes.

Most Holmdel residents are not aware where their hard-earned tax dollars are spent. We spend so much taxpayer dollars but still have areas of Holmdel that get flooded, the frequency of power outages has increased, and storm water management continues to be a pernicious problem for many Holmdel residents.

It is disgusting that a relatively affluent town like Holmdel continues to have issues that are not only persistent but are worsening, instead of improving. All such problems negatively impact all Holmdel residents and their quality of life.

Solutions to addressing these problems lie in formulating and following open, transparent processes that include shining light on transactions- big and small. Such processes compel and promote honesty, prevent cronyism while holding leaders accountable as they serve their constituents.

Such processes also increase efficiencies, eliminate waste and result in savings which help in reducing the tax burden on residents.

• Our senior citizens need more attention and care.

Health systems that serve our communities should be partnered with, to provide high quality healthcare delivery to all Holmdel residents especially our seniors.

There are various models of healthcare delivery to doorstep, that can be implemented in partnership with local healthcare facilities without no cost to the residents or the township.

Identify one or more specific goals or ideas you have to enhance life in your town:

• Preserve, protect, and improve the health and well-being of all Holmdel residents. This would mean preserving open space, improving security in schools and throughout the town, and solving basic problems of flooding, power outages, support and collaborate with law enforcement, our police and firemen and firewomen.
• Encourage and incentivize involvement of more Holmdel residents in activities in town by promoting cultural and community events. Involvement of more residents will keep the leadership on their toes which will provide improved results.

What in your experience or background prepares you for election to office:

I am fortunate that my upbringing was in a very positive environment. It is the teachings of my parents - Janak and Aryma - that have made me the person that I am.

The motto of my high school was “Service before Self”. Coming from a family of lawyers and engineers, consciously or sub-consciously I organically pursued the field of medicine.

I believe the path I took was mainly due to the empathy and a hunger to serve and making things better for everyone, that I imbibed during my formative years.

I have also been taught to be strong, resilient and speak up in the defense of right and fight against wrong. I have been taught by my parents to never take anything for granted, always work hard, and leave nothing to chance.

As a practicing cardiologist for many years and then taking on additional responsibilities in leadership, teaching, and administrative roles, I saw firsthand how profound the consequences of policy making and implementation of such policies can be on people’s lives.

I was invited to help lead the turnaround of a hospital, one on which many had given up. The hospital became a success in a year – increasing services, quality, and profitability, to many people in a surprisingly short period of time and the amazement of many.

I have a common sense, evidence-based approach to finding solutions to complex problems which has stood the test of time. Using such an approach I have delivered positive results that many presumed were not possible, especially in record time.

As a cardiologist with a critical care mindset and an MBA, procrastination does not belong in my vocabulary. Every problem that needs to be solved, in my mind is time sensitive.

Innovation, critical thinking, team building and treating people and co-workers with empathy, dignity and respect is I believe key to successful outcomes. As a member of senior leadership, my team in one of the largest organizations received the highest employee engagement survey scores.
I am always eager to roll up my sleeves and go to work on the frontlines with my team as I did during the COVID pandemic.

I enjoy and strive to know the pulse of the people which helps me gain knowledge about issues in real time so as to tackle them at the outset before they snowball. This approach helped me when I was treating COVID patients along with doctors and nurses on the frontlines as that is where I learned about the challenges in real-time instead of waiting for the information to come to me in the boardroom.

As a result, as Chief Medical Officer, I made tough decisions and calls that resulted in good outcomes and were appreciated at the time, and some later, while managing the multiple surges of the pandemic that resulted in no employee deaths in my hospital, due to hospital acquired COVID, unlike many hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

I recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (the world’s highest free-standing mountain and the highest mountain in Africa) as a tribute to COVID Healthcare Warriors and their families. It was a grueling and humbling experience – physically and mentally demanding and challenging.

It reminded me of the importance of developing a healthy respect of the unknown. I am a person of science and the arts having published many scientific papers and am a book author. Writing helps me learn more. I am currently working on a new book.

Candidates for the Holmdel Township Committee:

Full Term – Vote for Two:

• Kimberley LaMountain (Republican)
• Brian Foster (Republican)
• Rajesh Mohan (Independent)
• Julie Roth (Independent)

There are no Democrats running for office.

Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at patricia.mcdaniel@patch.com for another email of our candidate questions.