Local ads, local candidates

In the run up to election day I need help from our readers. I want to know about all the desi candidates running for elected office this Nov. 4th. In the comments of this post please provide:

1) Name of candidate and party affiliation

2) City, State

3) Office they are running for

4) Their website, a news article about them, or a commercial by them

In the early days of SM I had the time to do all this myself. These days I am just too busy to do all the research. More importantly however, there are many more desi candidates running. Let me get you guys warmed up by posting Ashish Mahendru’s television ad. He is running for judge locally here in Houston. That’s right, in Texas you elect your judges so that laws get interpreted just the way you like .

Big bonus points for anyone that finds a desi candidate running for office in the state of North Dakota, where SM’s world blogging headquarters is based.

31 thoughts on “Local ads, local candidates”

North Dakota? That’s gotta suck

Driving around the Fremont, Ca area this weekend I saw signs for Ravi Johal. His website didn’t state a party: http://www.ravijohal.com/. Candidate for: Board Member; Washington Township Health Care District

Not too far from Fremont, I watched Sashi speak in SF.

Name: Sashi McEntee Party: Republican Location: San Francisco,CA Web: http://www.voteforsashi.com/

Harmeet Dhillon, Republican San Francisco, CA California State Assembly http://www.dhillon08.com/

Fun fact: Ashish Mahendru was one of the lead judges in the McDonald’s french fry lawsuit. I really hope the guy stands a chance. From what I’ve heard from my parents in Houston, South Asians are starting to get excited about this guy.

Dr. Rishi Saxena TN State Representative Tennessee District 34 – Democrat http://drrishisaxena.com/

harpreet Singh is running for re-election to the City Council of Richmond, CA: http://sikhswim.com/2008/10/16/harpreet-singhs-reelection-campaign-in-california/

Farheen Hakeem is running for MN State Rep: http://www.farheenhakeem.org/frequently-asked-questions

Muhammad Ali Hasan is running for Colorado state rep: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Hasan The last two are desi, I had checked earlier.

Jay Goyal is running for reelection in Ohio.

Jay Goyal, Democrat Ohio State Representative Mansfield, OH (73rd District)

When Jay won his race two years ago, he was the youngest Indian-American elected official in the United States. We’ve blogged about him before.

Neeraj Nigam Independent Sterling, VA Candidate for US House of Representatives District 10 – Virginia http://www.neerajnigamforcongress.org/

Muhammad Ali Hasan is running for Colorado state rep: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Hasan The last two are desi, I had checked earlier.

There is a documentary on Link Tv that runs once in awhile on his family and there efforts to get Bush elected. The lead singer of Junoon is friends with the family. In the documentary they discuss their differences of opinion on Bush and other issues.

Kish Rajan is a democrat running for the city council of Walnut Creek, CA, couldn’t find a website though.

Name: Ravindra Kumar, Ph.D., M.S Party: Democrat Office: Candidate for Gwinnett School District’ 5 Location: Gwinnett County, GA Web: http://electkumar.com/default.aspx Media: http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/10/15/gwinnett_school_endorse.html http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/10/17/newcomer.html?cxntlid=inform_artr

Harpreet Sandhu Democrat Richmond City Council http://harpreetsandhu.net/

Tony Sarwar Collierville, TN City Alderman http://www.tonysarwar.com/

Name: A. Ghani (no first name available) Party: Democrat Office: Illinois State Senate (21st District) Website: http://www.winbigin08.com/ Also see: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=243870&src=2

Though he is no longer running, Dr. Jamshad Wyne ran for the now vacant Republican Congressional seat formerly held by the besmirched Vito Fosella (Staten Island/Brooklyn, NY).

The campaign ended in unfortunate race-baiting by another prominent GOP candidate in Staten Island.

tried to make the link clickable oh wells: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/09/06/2008-09-06_primary_fight_for_vito_fossellas_seat_tu.html

Name: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Party: Apu is a serious party animal Office: Mayor of Springfield Website: http://www.thesimpsons.com/bios/bios_townspeople_apu.htm

Thanks all! Great sleuthing so far. Keep an eye out for posts about many of these candidates leading up to Nov. 4th.

Found through IALI (I think they’re both Democrats, though I could be wrong):

Monisha Merchant, running for University of Colorado Board of Regents (CD-7) http://www.merchantforregent.com/

Swati Dandekar, Iowa State Senate District 18 http://www.swatidandekar.com/

Also, I though this dude Mervyn Dymally I found through wikipedia was just interesting – Trinidadian former Lieutenant Governor of California and former Congressperson – still in public office!

I wish it were easier to find more non-indian-american candidates online.

Republican candidate for California’s 27th district.

Navraj Singh http://www.singhforcongress2008.com/