Towards the end of 1968, the Ministry of Interior ordered that the city council elections, also known as the city association elections, be held again. My father suggested I run for office. This term, the association was to have nine members because both the population and the city had expanded. I ran for office and formed a coalition with eight other individuals; we won the elections with a majority vote, all nine of us. After forming the council, our first act was to assist the water organization; we managed to double the water piping network with grants from the government and other sources.
At that time, the mayor of Karaj was Dr. Homayoun, educated in France, very active and innovative. Additionally, the financial situation of the municipality was better than before since the law on modernization charges had been enacted. With Dr. Homayoun’s help and the grants we received from various sources, we were able to carry out many development projects, making Karaj recognized nationally for its beauty and cleanliness that year.
Asphalting and modernizing the streets and establishing a fire department were among our tasks during that period; we also completed the central municipal building, which had been left unfinished. Another development project from our term was the creation of Chamran Park; those childhood tales and the dream I had in 1939 in Baraghan were still on my mind, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity. I proposed the idea to Dr. Homayoun; he said, “It’s too expensive; the area is full of holes!” I said, “If you order the city’s waste to be dumped there, the holes will be filled.” He agreed, and thereafter, the waste was dumped there, taking about two years to prepare the ground. A person named Houshang Bilghani was put in charge of this project; we built a small house there for him to live in and provided him with seven or eight workers. After surveying and street planning, the park was eventually created. Whenever I see the park, I take pleasure in it; now, no one might know, but God does. Once, someone was collecting walnuts; during this, a poor man passed by. The first man called the poor man over and gave him some walnuts. The poor man took the walnuts and left without a word of thanks. The giver called the poor man back, saying, “I gave you these walnuts, and you didn’t even say thank you!” The poor man replied, “There’s no need; when I crack these, God hears it.”