Patel becomes first Indian American to hold post.
Virbhadra ‘Viru’ Patel has become the first Indian American to be sworn-in to serve the Fourth Ward on the Woodbridge Township Council, in New Jersey.
Patel was sworn-in to replace James Major on August 14, at the annual India Day parade, reported New Brunswick Today. Woodbridge is the state’s sixth-largest municipality by population, with just over 100,000 residents, a quarter of which are of Asian descent.
The Fourth Ward includes the Iselin and Menlo Park Terrace sections of the Township, home to a large concentration of Indians and Indian Americans.
“It is such an honor to be sworn in on India Square together with so many of my fellow South Asian Americans,” Patel was quoted as saying in MyCentralJersey.com.
Patel joins the Council, not after winning an election, but rather following a temporary appointment by the Democratic Party. It underscores the power of Mayor Jon MacCormac, who has influence over the party organization, noted New Brunswick Today.
By law, when an elected official resigns in the middle of their term, their party’s organization get to propose three potential temporary replacements, and the Township Council gets to pick from them.
By the time Major announced his resignation on August 9, the Woodbridge Democratic Organization had already proposed Janice Kassner, Daniel Osborne, and Patel.
Within minutes, the Township Council unanimously selected Patel, on a motion made by Councilman Pete Dalina.
Patel’s swearing-in ceremony was reminiscent of that of Kyle Anderson, who became the first non-white person sworn into local office in Woodbridge on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2011.
Like Patel, he took office following the resignation of his predecessor, and a temporary appointment from the Democratic Party.
In addition to Patel and Anderson, the remaining members of the Council include three white women, and four white men.
According to Patel’s Facebook page, he’s a former Senior Transportation Specialist at NYC DOT, a former Civil Engineer at Frederic R Harris Inc. He hold a master’s degree in Traffic & Transportation Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.