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.
According to state broadcaster NHK, the incident took place at around 11. 30 a.m. (local time) near the Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara city while the 67-year-old former leader was making a speech for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate's election campaign.
Six people were killed and more than two dozen injured when shots rang out in the middle of a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill. Video clips posted to social media showed the festivities collapsing into panic as revellers realized they were under fire and scrambled for cover.
Five people have been shot dead, as per city officials, in the parade in Highland Park, north of Chicago, which was suddenly halted about 10 minutes after it began as gunshots were heard.
At 5.48 p.m., a 22-year-old Danish man in possession of a rifle and ammunition was arrested outside the shopping mall. The motive for the shooting remains unknown and the suspect will face questioning by a judge on Monday. On Sunday night, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark had suffered a cruel attack.
US attorneys said the defendants illicitly prescribed over 13 million pills and made false claims to illegally collect over $20 million from Medicare, over $17 million from Medicaid and over $15 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, from 2013 to 2018.
Problems were popping up well before the weekend, with some disruptions caused by thunderstorms that slowed air traffic. American Airlines canceled 8% of its flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and United Airlines scrubbed 4% of its schedule both days, according to FlightAware.
