Today is Election Day in many states across the nation, the primary elections to be exact. Though there are a few of desis running for office across the nation, there are FOUR running for office in Maryland (Thanks, IALI).
Kumar Barve (District 17) [WaPo Review] Age:43
First elected in 1990, and re-elected three times–in 1994,1998, and 2002, Delegate Kumar P. Barve, age 43, is the Majority Leader in Maryland’s state legislature and is the longest-serving elected official of Indian origin. He represents a district with a population of 110,000 in Montgomery County, Maryland.Barve’s grandfather, Shankar L. Gokhale, was the President of Holkar College in Indore, India. Gokhale immigrated to the United States in 1911. Barve’s mother, Neera, was born in Schenectady, New York. His father, Prabhakar Barve, came to the U.S. in 1957 after studying architecture at the Hammersmith School of Building in London, England. Kumar P. Barve is the first person of Indian origin to be elected as a state legislator in United States history. [link]
Nina Basu (District 13) [WaPo Review] Age: 25
Basu, a financial analyst [and law student] who is waging her first campaign for state office, lists her top priorities as funding education, mass transit and public safety. Basu, who has served on the Long Reach Village Board since 2003, said her priorities – like those of the other candidates – require money to come to fruition. Seeking that money would be her primary role as a delegate, she said. [link]
Shukoor Ahmed (District 23A) [WaPo Review] Age:44
Ahmed moved to the United States from India at the age of 25 with, hesaid, only $500. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in public policy from American University and, in 2000, started his own company. He has had the political bug since he was young, Ahmed said, and worked on the Democratic presidential campaigns of Joe Lieberman and Bill Bradley. Ahmed said his passion is to “use technology to improve (government) services to citizens” – an area in which most legislators lack expertise, he noted. [link]
Saqib Ali (District 39) [WaPo Review] Age: 31
You might remember Ali from last month, and the story of the anti-islam demonstrator in his front yard.
Like Barve, he was recently endorsed by the Washington Post which stated “[p]olitical newcomer Saqib Ali has shown good command of issues and would bring new vigor to this district’s delegation.” He has also been endorsed by the Montgomery County Education Association. A software engineer, he has lived in Montgomery County since 1991 when he moved there to attend college. Ali has out raised all candidates. As the Post observes “challenger Saqib Ali has raised $63,000 for his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for the state House. That’s twice as much as the three incumbents in the district have raised, combined, in the past year. [link]
It’s great to see four desis running for office in Maryland. I’ve had to opportunity to meet with Barve in the past and I would have to say that it was his pioneering that paved the road for desis to run for political office the Maryland today. Good luck to the candidates and if you live in Maryland, don’t forget to vote!
not to mention that saqib ali is a hottie.
lavanya: you said what i was thinking ;)…
not to mention that saqib ali is a hottie
uh, watch the objectification of the mussulmann, ‘kay? don’t dehumanize him just cuz he has no foreskin.
No one else picking up that nina is ONLY 25 and running for office? While in law school??? She’s like my new hero…
i don’t know if balancing both law school and public office simultaneous is feasible and practical (for those who went to law school, are in law school, are law school affiliated, can say yeah or nay, but if you told me to balance grad school with running for a public office, i’d look at you and ask you if you were on crack, and then throw my books at you..but i speak for myself here)…
impressive yes.. overachieving yes…it’s the brown way, right?
realistic on doing well in both places if elected? dunno…
chick pea – i agree.
additionally, in my opinion, there is no way a 25-year-old law student understands enough about the legal system and/or public policy to be running for office. i’m sure she is intelligent, and charismatic, but there is something to be said for in-house and real-life experience, neither of which can be attained by being a full-time undergraduate and then graduate student. and i should know 😉
Unlike our Yale and Harvard-educated chief executive. He doesn’t even need to know the legal system, he just makes it up as he goes along. Depending on what he feels in his gut. Now that is knowledge in action! Actual legal expertise is for sissies.
(But if a law student doesn’t know the law, who would? And besides, Joyce wrote “Dubliners” at 23, and if that isn’t life experience, I honestly don’t know what is.)
I live in Maryland and my mother and sister keep harassing me to go and vote today. Still another 2 hours until the polls close.
According to “News India” it’s even more than that: South Asians in Maryland Primaries:
Incidentally, there is a currently-serving Congressman from MD with a South Asian background; Rep Van Hollen was born in Pakistan and lived in India and Sri Lanka.
Residents of Montgomery County, MD take note. I was involved with two campaigns in today’s primaries, both local, and there were some major problems with the voting machines. This could be a major story because I’ve received calls from people as far away as California.
Yo Amreekis, Do they dab indelible ink on your index finger as you exit the polling booths over there? Would appreciate if someone could clarify. Peace
I did go out and vote yesterday.
There were some problems in a few counties with the voting machines and the registration lists. Now, all of the registration lists are on small book-sized touchscreen computers and some of those were malfunctioning. Some people who showed up were turned away and told to come back later and the polls were kept open for an extra hour in a couple of counties.
But I must say, I do prefer these touchscreen computer ballots better than the old-style paper or lever system. And I like that there were options for both English or Spanish instructions. I’ve never had to do the fingerprint thing but I did get a sticker that said, “I voted” and that was also in English and Spanish.
No county that I know of does that, but it varies from county to county between paper and computer balloting. In the county I spoke of, the computers malfunctioned and in a lot of polling stations, there was a shortage of back up provisional ballots for people to file.
I dunno about all that, Taz. She’s 25. It remains to be seen how good a job a 25-year old legislator can really do, particularly while in law school. The jury’s still out, as they say. But I have more concern about her abilities from her age (and yes, I’m sure I’ll irk a few people by saying this) than from her studies. Clearly she’s highly intelligent, motivated, and no doubt has relevant experience (her Board experience since 2003).
But there’s a certain perspective you get on things beyond your 20’s. I’m generalizing overmuch, but personally I haven’t seen many desis in that age group who take up leadership roles without a fair bit of associated arrogance, egotism, or blithe indifference to big picture issues. I’d like to watch the development of this one.
Current Results: Kumar Barve, Shukoor Ahmed, Nina Basu, Saqib Ali.
so, did kumar bavre lose? or does he and the other top candidate run off in the general elections? i don’t know how MD primaries work. anyone care to expand?
rversde23
Spent some time looking at the Washington post site- but it’s kinda confusing – Sriram, your on the ground there- care to highlight for us?