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.
Footage of Khan being dragged out of court two days earlier sparked outrage among his supporters. Angry protesters torched buildings and vehicles. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed a tough response to the attacks and government figures have already decried Khan's release.
The mother used an app to track her daughter's phone, which led her to a wooded area near Heroes Stadium on Thousand Oaks, some 12 miles away from Reddy's school. She also reported the matter to the police, and as the officers responded, the mother spotted the daughter at the bottom of a cliff.
This was a unique and prestigious occasion when the High Commissioner of the UK visited JGU for the first time and addressed students of international affairs, law and other disciplines, giving them a diplomatic and strategic overview of the relationship between the world's two important democracies.
Three Indian-origin members of an organised crime group have been jailed for smuggling cannabis worth around 1 million pounds into the UK from Canada. Kuran Gill, Jag Singh and Govind Bahia, all in their 30s, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import a 'class B' drug and were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court.
Sixteen people, including several men and women of Indian descent, have been convicted after a major investigation into a West London-based organised crime group involved in international money laundering and human smuggling, UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said. Members of the network smuggled in excess of GBP 42 million in cash out of the UK, making hundreds of trips to Dubai and the UAE between 2017 and 2019.
Khan's arrest came a day after the military warned him against making "baseless allegations" after he again accused a senior army officer of plotting to kill him, The Express Tribune reported.
