CHICAGO: It is a good development that many an Indian American along with Asian Americans are slowly getting geared up to be part of the mainstream politics with a larger contingent of community activists running for elective position whether they succeed or not. It is also heartening to note that the Indian Americans are actively getting involved in supporting the candidates whom they think could best serve their interests or work for the community at large.
All these things were evident when large number of community activists plunged their hast for the elective positions. Also, evident was that they did actively support and canvass for their candidates. To cite a few examples, the support extended to Cook County head Tony Prekwinkle, Congressman Danny Davis, billionaire J B Pritzker for Governor on Democratic slate and Bruce Rauner for Governor on Republican side and a few others.
The sad part is that the community at large, mainly Indian American community still has to realize that sitting home and not exercising their voting rights does not help much to them or to the community, specially candidates running for the office .Sapan Shah who was running on Republican ticket for US Congress could have won if Indian Americans shedding their lethargy had come out in numbers to vote for him He got good backing from many non Indian voters but still fell short of the winning target in a three cornered contest.
It is again interesting to note that record number of Asian Americans sought seats in the U.S. Congress, State House, and local governments across the state. With over 700,000 Asian Americans in Illinois, the community has begun to show its power and run for office at all levels.
Among the winners in the March 20 election was Ram Villivalam (D), who sought the seat in Illinois Senate District 8. Villivalam will be the first Asian American to serve in the Illinois Senate, as well as the first South Asian in the General Assembly when he is inaugurated in January, 2019. Because Ram is unopposed in the general election this November, he has virtually won the seat after primary election victory.
Ram demolished the three times Senator Silverstein and a four candidates who contested election. Ram has 52% of the vote, a commanding lead over the incumbent State senator Silverstein, who was recently found to have violated the state Ethics Act.
Impact Fund had endorsed Ram last month as part of its first endorsements of the 2018 cycle. Thanks to many of Indian Americans, the fund could make a significant contribution to Ram’s campaign to support his outreach to voters in his district. A political action committee, Impact Fund works with experienced operatives, campaign strategists, and donors to endorse candidates based on their viability and commitment to advocating for the needs and values of the Indian American community.
Illinois State Senators sometimes go on to do big things. Ram’s victory tonight underscores the impact of dedicating serious resources to help talented and patriotic Indian Americans run, win, and lead. Theresa Mah (D), the first Asian American to serve in the General Assembly, will return to the Illinois House after running uncontested.
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) ran uncontested in U.S. House District 8 and will seek a second term in November facing Republican candidate J Diganvekar who bagged nomination of the Republican Party in the wake of exit of Ms Vandana Jhingan. Whoever wins in this District, it will be Indian American for sure.
Sapan Shah sought Republican nomination for Illinois 10th District in US Congress, however could secure around 30 per cent votes and conceded the election to Douglas Bennett who secured 35 percent of the votes. The difference was not heavy and if Indian Americans had turned out in numbers, it could have made difference. According to Nimish Jani a community leader, there are 10,000 voters of Indian origin but the turnout was very poor. Shah in a statement said he would support Bennett in his bid to unseat Schneider.
“Unfortunately with last night’s record low voter turnout, it’s clear that we came up short of our objective. However, as a political outsider, I’m proud of the campaign we ran, and I can’t thank enough to my team, supporters, and volunteers for all their hard work.”
It was a close contest for Democratic candidate Ravi Raju (D) running in Dist.15 for Cook County Commissioner post. At one time he got ahead of his Democratic primary opponent by 33 votes but mail in votes are being counted for Cook County Board District 15. The setback was for Rishi Agrawal who contested Cook County, Judgeship and fought a real good battle.
Multi Ethnic Taskforce and Multi Ethnic Advisory Board headed by Kishore Mehta and Dr Vijay Prabhakar respectively along with many Indian Americans had backed heavily Tony Preckwinkle for Cook County head. They also supported Danny Davis and both won handsomely.
Other Asian American candidates who sought office in the Illinois Primary include, DilaraSayeed in Illinois House District 5, Grace Chan McKibben in House District 25, Sameena Mustafa in U.S. House District 5, Sapan Shah in U.S. House District 10, Neill Mohammad in U.S. House District 16, Bushra Amiwala in Cook County Board District 13, Rishi Agrawal in the Cook County 8th judicial sub circuit, Cyrus Hossein the Cook County 8th judicial sub circuit, Mehr Qayyum in DuPage County Board District 3, and Hadiya Afzal in DuPage County Board District 4.
Next up is the general election on November 6. Asian American voters will be keeping a close eye on the elections for Illinois General Assembly because of the impact State Representatives and Senators have on preserving essential services for our community partners, supporting Census outreach in 2020. In addition, whoever wins the Governorship this November will have a say over the State’s role in Census for outreach, and then have veto power over redistricting in 2020.
For the Governor race, Indian Americans are more or less evenly divided with many backing incumbent Rauner over Pritzker. NimeihJani a Trustee for Schaumburg Township and a hardened supporter of Rauner said that he was optimistic that Rauner would win as he has proved to be a task master even while facing huge challenges. Suzzen Patel on the other had exuded confidence for Pritzker. Many feel that Pritzker needs to convince voters that he has extricated himself from Mike Madigan camp to gain their support . The race will be close and worth watching till the end.
The Indian American Impact Fund (“Impact Fund”) endorsed two top-tier candidates for the United States House of Representatives:
Sri Kulkarni in Texas’s 22nd Congressional District. Sri is a former Foreign Service Officer who served overseas tours in Taiwan, Russia, Iraq, Israel, and Jamaica and as a foreign policy and defense advisor to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. A majorly, minority district, the Texas 22nd also includes the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, which is home to a large Indian American community.
Dr. Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. An emergency room physician, cancer research advocate, and community leader, Dr. Tipirneni is running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by former Congressman Trent Franks. Having recently won her primary decisively with 60% of the vote, she now moves on to a special election on April 24th.
“In an incredibly competitive year for Congressional candidates, Sri and Hiral have demonstrated the passion, tenacity, and drive it takes to run, win, and lead,” said Raj Goyle, co-founder of Impact and a former member of the Kansas House of Representatives, adding “Now it’s up to all of us to help them across the finish line.”
Earlier this year, Impact Fund endorsed two other Congressional candidates, Aftab Pureval in Ohio and Aruna Miller in Maryland. Impact Fund continues to closely monitor the campaigns of over 60 Indian Americans on the ballot in 2018 and will issue further endorsements in coming weeks.
“As a community, we are extraordinarily proud of the four Indian Americans already serving in the House of Representatives,” said Deepak Raj, co-founder of Impact and chair of the Impact Fund. “By electing Sri and Hiral, in addition to Aftab and Aruna, we will double our ranks in Congress this November and send a powerful signal that the Indian American community has truly arrived.”
Last week, Impact Fund celebrated its first victory of the 2018 cycle when its endorsed candidate Ram Villivalam effectively won his campaign for the Illinois State Senate.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
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