Why Settle for Less?

November 6, 2019

Nineteen years ago, I came to America – the land of opportunity and decided to settle here and make this great country our home. A big part of my decision was an appreciation for our shared American values. One value, a drive for chasing excellence, permeates our culture. In this pursuit of excellence, Americans consistently pursue perfection, demonstrate hard work, by going the extra mile, remaining dedicated and committed, through strong work ethics. This drive to complete any job or task with the highest level of sincerity and standard is ingrained in our culture.  These values match perfectly with how I was brought up and the values imparted by my parents and teachers. 

Over the years, I have found myself growing ever more tied to these values. “Why settle for less?” has become a driving force in whatever I do.  My role as a Councilmember is no exception, it is important for me to always demonstrate my commitment and dedication. Indeed, why should we ever settle for less?

Foster City has had a strong track record of great accomplishments. However, recently we have seen a deterioration in our commitment to pursue excellence.  Unfortunately, as a nation and as a City, we are growing callous to mediocrity, we are beginning to recalibrate ourselves to expect lower standards. We have developed a thick skin which engenders a lack of respect for each other.  We are beginning to choose the easy path and are avoiding difficult conversations about the topics that are critical for us and our future.  We are slipping away from holding ourselves and each other to higher standards. I see many adapting, taking the easy path, and now accepting lapses in ethics, integrity, and honesty.  There is no gray area when it comes to ethics & public trust. You are ethical or you are not. You support unethical behavior or you do not. You choose to settle for less or you do not. It is as simple as that.  There is no room for compromise in these areas. 

Perseverance and continued adherence to excellence, integrity, honesty, and ethics is no easy feat. It is easier is to give up & give in to achieve short term wins and selfish gains. However, the greatness of our country and our City lies in a relentless focus to pursue excellence. Nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy. The moment we get accustomed to lower standards, we lose the essence of what keeps us ahead of the rest of the world. The reality is it takes sacrifice, letting go of short-term selfish goals, and avoiding actions that stem from a desire to satisfy ego and petty power struggles. 

That’s exactly what leaders do and that’s exactly what we should expect from our leaders. We should not and must not settle for less when choosing our leadership, they represent us. 

Please ask yourself - Is your leader engaged with the community and with the City staff? Are they listening to you and seeking your feedback & input? Are they demonstrating hard work, dedication, & preparation? Are they credible, honest, and ethical? Are they worthy of your trust? Are they doing their homework and prepared for the City Council meetings? Are they engaged in the discussions and contributing? Do they sit silent? Are they able to provide rationale for their positions and votes? Are they well versed in the issues and do they have the bandwidth to dive in and work to find solutions? 

We are at a critical point in time, when one of the critical roles your City Council leadership can play is to optimize our representation regionally on housing and traffic. We need to be strong and firm when articulating Foster City’s unique challenges and opportunities with fact-based information.  

Our modern, fast paced, and complex world places onto us higher civic expectations. We need standards that can be quantified creating measurable outcomes. Today, having a culture of meritocracy is a necessity for every sector, including inside local governance. We need a system based on performance, intelligence, credentials, and education. It is the only way we can survive and thrive. How else can we maximize the opportunities ahead? The tenet that “Logic doesn’t work in politics” needs to change as it is becoming antithetical to our survival. It is time we leave our egos and the imperfect norms and trends of the past behind and work together to position our City for future success. 

The stakes are too high for us to settle. We must insist on nothing but the best of ourselves for our City and for our country. We have the responsibility to not only preserve what our forefathers worked hard to create, but we also need to face the challenges of the world as they are today and optimize the opportunities ahead. Let us hold ourselves and each other to the highest ethical and professional standards.

Please continue to reach out to me at rawasthi@fostercity.org if you have questions or ideas or just want to have a conversation on any City topic