Indian-American announces bid for Texas county commissioner
Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Jun, 2023 11:15 AM
New York, June 1 (IANS) Indian-American Taral Patel, a former Biden-Harris presidential appointee, has announced his candidacy to serve as Fort Bend County Commissioner for Precinct 3 in Texas.
Patel, a 29-year-old former chief of staff to Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George, will run as a Democrat for the seat held by longtime Republican Commissioner Andy Meyers.
"Today, I'm announcing my campaign for Fort Bend County Commissioner. Together, we can push past the divisive politics that we see in the news -- and build a stronger, diverse, & more united Fort Bend," Patel tweeted along with a campaign video showing him driving around the precinct and interacting with residents.
Born to Indian immigrants who came to the US in the 1980's, Patel was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021 to serve in his administration as a Liaison for the White House.
He has also served as a Law Clerk for the Department of Justice Criminal Division in the Public Integrity Section fighting corruption, bribery, and other crimes at all levels.
"I'm running for commissioner to fix potholes in 24 hours; expand healthcare; keep kids safe; give first responders a raise; help families with child care; fight for reproductive freedom; lower property taxes; bring good paying clean energy jobs and unite our diverse community," Patel wrote on Twitter
.According to his campaign statement, through his varied roles, he has built strong relationships in almost every state in the US, and with many international partners to leverage key industries, governmental decision makers, and essential stakeholders to deliver positive results for all involved.
He helped lead Fort Bend County successfully through numerous flooding incidents, the Covid-19 pandemic, Winter Storm Uri, electric grid failure, droughts, and other major emergencies, the statement added.
Mostly growing up in Fort Bend, Patel attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a B.A. in government in 2016.
He was also a key member of the White House Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (WHAANHPI) Committee.
The Democratic primary election is scheduled for March 5, 2024.
More than 200 people held a candlelight vigil in McKinney, Texas, in the memory of a nine year-old Indian-origin boy who was allegedly stabbed to death by his father last week.Subramanian Ponnazhakan, 39, was booked on capital murder charge and his bail was set at $1 million, the McKinney Police said.
Among the 313 respondents from the US and India, more than half said they often do cyberbullying while only 6 per cent said they had never committed cyberbullying. Educated and married people, irrespective of their gender, were most likely to commit cyberbullying more frequently, but demographics were not the only factors at play.
Hashim Aziz was driving at over three times the speed limit to "impress his cousins" when his Audi A3 crashed into Baljinder Kaur Moore's Vauxhall Corsa in West Midlands, in November last year, the Mirror reported. Baljinder, 32, was on her way to pick up her husband from his brother's home, and she was driving at 62 mph.
From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016, Pandya knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programmes for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies, according to a Justice Department release.
Stakeholders say they expect the summit to produce an agreement that will allow Canada's Nexus enrolment centres to reopen, with interviews with U.S. border agents taking place at Canadian airport facilities that already provide preclearance services for travellers heading stateside.
A man is in custody due to possible links with at least one shooting at the homes or offices of Democratic officials in Albuquerque, the largest city in the US state of New Mexico. The unidentified suspect, who is said to be under 50, has not been formally charged in any of the cases.
