All running under the Democratic Party.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: In a situation unprecedented in New York politics, three Indian-Americans are running for office in Nassau County, located east of New York City.
Mili Makhijani is running for Oyster Bay’s Town Clerk office, Shaker Nelanuthala is running to be an Oyster Bay Council Member, and Sid Nathen is running to be a Council Member for North Hampstead Town.
Furthermore, Laura Gillen – who has a strong connection with India and the local Indian community due in large part to her travels around India and, specifically, Calcutta in 1995-1996 – is running for Nassau Country Clerk.
All four candidates are running under the Democratic Party, and are considered running mates to Tom Suozzi, who is running for the coveted County Executive post. He lost a race for the same office very narrowly in the last election, and is hoping to win it this time from Republican incumbent Edward Mangano.
“For over three years, [Mangano] has presided over the decline of our county,” said Suozzo, a great supporter of the local Indian-American community, to the Press Trust of India (PTI). I’ve seen the county taken over by a state agency and mismanaged from one man-made crisis after another. We have to do better.”
Kalthil Varghese, one of the founders of Indian-American Friends of Tom Suozzo and a Nassau County leader of the Democratic Party, said that “Indian-Americans owe a lot to Tom Suozzi for his confidence of choosing three Indian candidates as his running mate and another with India connection.”
Elections will be held nationwide on Tuesday, November 5th.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com