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.
2 Sikh men were attacked and robbed in New York in Queens on Tuesday, the same neighbourhood in the city where an elderly Sikh man was the target of a hate crime less than 2 weeks ago. The attack happened “very close” to the area where Nirmal Singh was punched in an unprovoked assault on April 3.
Officials from the city and the federal government investigating the morning shooting which seemed to be meticulously planned were puzzled by what triggered the attack. Although 33 shots had been fired, no one has died while five of those hit by bullets were reported to be in a critical condition.
A total of 16 people were injured in the incident, six of them from shrapnel, smoke inhalation or other causes, officials said. 5 of the gunshot victims were in critical condition, but miraculously there were no deaths reported.
The shooting occurred at 4.13 p.m. on Sunday evening in the US city's 12200 block of Blakley Avenue, Xinhua news agency quoted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as saying in a notification. Two male adult victims were pronounced dead at the scene, the Department said.
The Speaker asked Shehbaz to move to the seat of the Prime Minister in the House and he shifted to the treasury benches amid cheers, with other members of the former joint opposition following suit. Shehbaz said it is the first time in Pakistan's history that a no-confidence motion against a Prime Minister has been successf
In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled on Thursday that the National Assembly Deputy Speakers ruling to dismiss the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and the subsequent dissolution of the Lower House by the President on the PMs advice were contrary to the Constitution and the law of the land, Express Tribune reported.
