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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                  APRIL 24, 2026    |  The Indian Eye 26

                          Indian American Public Affairs Council

            Hosts “Conversations Over Coffee” with Bellaire

                               City Council Position 4 Candidates

            OUR BUREAU
            Bellaire, TX
                  he Indian American Public Af-
                  fairs Council (IAPAC) success-
            Tfully hosted a Conversations
            Over Coffee candidate forum, bringing
            together residents and candidates for
            Bellaire City Council Position 4 ahead
            of the upcoming May special election.
                The event provided a thought-
            ful and engaging platform for civic
            dialogue in Bellaire, widely known
            as the “City of Homes” for its strong
            neighborhoods, excellent schools, and
            close-knit community.
                Participating candidates Todd
            Thurber,  Kevin  Newman,  and  Gay
            Mayeux,  each  brought  distinct  pro-
            fessional perspectives shaped by their
            backgrounds in engineering, business
            operations,  and  financial  leadership.
            Candidate Shuba Grewal, an advocate
            for responsible growth, transparency,  Bellaire City Council Candidates Todd Thurber, Gay Mayeux,  Kevin Newman with community members at IAPAC’s Conversations Over Coffee forum
            and community engagement was un-
            able to attend due to being out of town.  she said.
                Todd  Thurber,  a  civil  engineer,   “One  of  IAPAC’s  core  missions
            emphasized proactive, long-term in-  is to strengthen civic awareness and
            frastructure planning and resilience.  engagement within our community,”
            He underscored the importance of  said Dr. Roopa Gir, who provided
            structured capital improvement pro-  opening remarks for the event.
            grams and regional coordination to    The discussion was moderated
            address  aging  systems  and  flooding  by  Ruchi  Gupta,  Board  Member  of
            challenges. “We need to stop reacting  IAPAC, who emphasized constructive
            to problems and start planning ahead  dialogue, stating, “Our goal is to cre-
            with a long-term infrastructure strate-  ate a respectful space where partici-
            gy,” he said.                     pants can listen, learn, and engage in a
                Kevin Newman, a business lead-  meaningful exchange of ideas.”
            er and entrepreneur, focused on       Across the discussion, several   Bellaire City Council Candidates running for Position 4 Gay Mayeux, Todd Thurber, and Kevin
            accountability,  efficiency,  and  prac-  shared priorities emerged. Candidates
            tical governance. He advocated for  agreed on the need for long-term              Newman at IAPAC’s Conversations Over Coffee forum
            a results-driven approach to city  planning, infrastructure investment,
            management.  “We  need  to  take  a  and maintaining Bellaire’s high qual-  prevent overdevelopment and safe-  ber of IAPAC.
            common-sense  business  approach  to  ity of life.                  guarding neighborhoods.               IAPAC expressed appreciation to
            running the city. That means improv-  Flood  mitigation  was  identified   Public safety, infrastructure mod-  the candidates, attendees, and volun-
            ing efficiency, eliminating waste, and  as one of the city’s most pressing  ernization, and fiscal responsibility were  teers for contributing to a meaningful
            ensuring taxpayer dollars are used re-  challenges. Candidates discussed ex-  also central themes. Candidates high-  dialogue that supports informed deci-
            sponsibly,” he stated.            panding drainage capacity, strength-  lighted the importance of upgrading ag-  sion-making.
                Gay Mayeux, a former CFO and  ening regional partnerships, and  ing systems, improving police visibility   The  Indian  American  Public
            CPA, highlighted the importance of  implementing infrastructure improve-  and technology, and maintaining trans-  Affairs Council (IAPAC) is a non-
            fiscal  discipline  and  strategic  execu-  ments to better manage flood risks in  parency  in  budgeting  and  spending.  partisan  501(c)(3)  nonprofit  orga-
            tion. She emphasized aligning priori-  this low-lying area.             The forum included an engaging  nization dedicated to promoting
            ties with responsible budgeting to sup-  The forum also addressed the bal-  question-and-answer session directly  civic engagement, leadership, and
            port long-term sustainability. “Money  ance between economic development  from  the  residents,  reflecting  strong  public  service.  Through  initiatives
            matters. We must align strategy, bud-  and preserving Bellaire’s residential  community interest in local gover-  such as Conversations Over Coffee,
            geting, and execution to ensure we in-  character. Candidates emphasized at-  nance and civic participation. The  IAPAC connects community mem-
            vest in priorities, while being respon-  tracting high-quality businesses while  event concluded with a vote of thanks  bers  with  public  leaders  to  encour-
            sible stewards of taxpayer resources,”  maintaining zoning protections to  by Nellie Naidoo, a community mem-  age informed civic participation.

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