Shyamali Hauth is running for Virginia State House.
Hauth who immigrated to the US from India with her parents, who went to pursue doctorate degrees, is running for candidate for the house of delegates in the state of Virginia as a Democrat. She is a former legislative director, multimodal transportation, public safety & the arts, Fairfax county. Hauth served in the US Air Force in both enlisted and officer ranks. She was also tenured faculty at Spokane Community College. As part of her advocacy work in Virginia, she has testified before House and Senate committees and met with legislators on both sides of the aisle on a wide range of issues. In the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC), she serves as the co-chair of the veterans and military families caucus and co-vice chair of diversity and outreach. Regionally, she was elected as the first vice chair for the Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia (DAAV) and she is the mid-Atlantic & southern regional director for South Asians for America (SAFA).
Mamta Singh is running for New Jersey Hudson County Commissioner.
Mamta Singh, a long-time resident of Jersey City is a community leader and non-profit founder. When she immigrated to the United States from India, she found it difficult to find help settling in as a stay-at-home mom with a young child and as a response she founded JCFamilies Inc, a 501c(3) non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing Jersey City residents’ parenting experience. The community connects over 40,000 families and provides regular opportunities to network and celebrate all the Jersey City offers. She is running for Hudson County Commissioner District 4 as a Progressive Democrat, to ensure that the county’s 600 million dollar budget is managed fairly, transparently, and to benefit the community that’s given her the opportunity to live the American Dream. Her election day is June 6.
Vikram Vilkhu is running for New York Brighton Town Justice.
Vik Vilkhu is an Indian-American advocate at Relin, Goldstein, and Crane LLP, who is experienced in matters involving creditor’s rights, trial practice, and criminal litigation. He has practiced before trial courts throughout New York and all four federal district courts in the state of New York. A lifelong Democrat, he is running for judge in the Brighton Town Court which handles three types of cases: criminal, small claims, and eviction matters. He believes that he is the only candidate who has both prosecuted criminal cases and defended those accused of crimes with no other candidate bringing to the court this level of balanced perspective.
Naveen Havannavar is running for New York Pittsford Town Board.
Naveen Havannavar was an IT professional in Bengaluru before he moved to the US. He is a technology manager with over 20 years of experience leading diverse engineering teams at companies like Paychex and Xerox. He is also an advisor to various non-profit and community boards and currently serves as the chairperson at the India Community Center. He believes in giving back and contributing to society and is also an actor and has appeared in movies, commercials, and theatre. As candidate of the town board, he is designated by the Monroe County Democratic Committee and would like to address the community’s long-term infrastructure needs, including sidewalks expansion, road maintenance, and access to critical town resources and support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Ramesh Premkumar, who is running for Texas Coppell City Council, is a member of the Coppell smart city board since 2020 and has been chairperson during 2022 and 2023. His election day is May 6. He is also board member, Coppell Chamber of Commerce since 2018. He is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Augur IT Inc, where he leads a team of data scientists, data engineers, and marketers. He has 17 years of experience in corporate America and 10 years of entrepreneurship including co-founding start-ups, angel investing, product development, marketing, sales, and strategy. He did his BTech in India and worked in Bengaluru before moving to the US for higher education.
K.S. Bhaskar is running for Pennsylvania Tredyffrin Township Town Supervisor.
KS Bhaskar, whose present term ends in December 2023, is running again for Pennsylvania Tredyffrin Township Town Supervisor. He has held several public offices and did his BTech from IIT, Kanpur, before moving to the US for higher education.
Indian American Impact, an organisation that is focused on engaging the Indian-American diaspora and building long-term power among historically excluded communities, is supporting many of the candidates who are running for various offices. “We are excited to announce our second round of endorsements for 2023 which include nine incredible candidates running for state legislative and local office in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia,” an official statement from IA Impact, which was set up in 2016 to help Indian Americans run for office, win, and lead, said.
The organisation is also endorsing Gopal Balachandran, a former public defender and current Penn State Law professor, who is running for the Court of Common Pleas; and Neil Makhija, an attorney, educator, and community organiser, who is currently on leave from serving as executive director of Impact, running for Montgomery County Commissioner.
Balachandran was born in India, but immigrated to the United States in 1979 with his family. He currently serves on the State College Borough Council after running in 2021. Makhija was among 13 civil rights leaders invited by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House to advise on civil & voting rights in 2021.
“Municipal elections are right around the corner in many states and it is imperative that we come out and support our candidates and make sure we vote. These county, municipal, school board and state legislative races directly affect our neighbourhoods and the schools our children attend,” the statement from Impact, which is now a leading organisation mobilising South Asian communities and electing leaders to public office at the local, state, and federal levels, said. The organisation has recently launched its newest Pennsylvania / New Jersey state chapter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.