Javed Ellahie Is the New Mayor of Monte Sereno
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The City Council of Monte Sereno, California voted unanimously during its December 7, 2021, meeting to elect Pakistani American Javed Ellahie as Mayor of this affluent and picturesque town of around 3,500 people in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Javed and his wife Naveeda (Cookie) Ellahie have lived in Monte Sereno since 1987 where they have raised their four children. This is Javed’s first time on the City Council, but he is not new to regional public service. He has previously served on the West Valley-Mission Community College Board and on the Board of Trustees/Executive Board of the Santa Clara County Bar Association. With these credentials we believe that outgoing Mayor Shawn Leuthold, along with City Councilmembers Liz Lawler, Rowena Turner and Bryan Mekechuk (now Mayor Pro Tempore) could not have chosen a better candidate to lead the city as Mayor.
Javed over the years has taken an unusual career path in which he started off as an Engineer (BS from CSU Fresno). After having worked in major Silicon Valley technology companies for a few years he decided to pursue the legal profession, graduating with a JD from Santa Clara University Law School. In many ways the local Pakistani, South Asian and Muslim American community can be glad that he did because when he has not been helping the mainstream population, he has been there for us, assisting with legal issues over many decades in Northern California.
Attorney Javed Ellahie is now in the spotlight. It needs to be noted that the new Mayor, long before he got here, had been helping our community members in many capacities irrespective of their levels of affluence, political affiliations, or ethnic backgrounds. One now hopes that he will inspire some of our young people in the San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond) to become elected leaders, activists, and lawyers too. Our congratulations to Javed and Naveeda and the entire Ellahie family as he takes on his new role.
