New Jersey Assembly's Indian- American Deputy Speaker today said the community leaders in the state had endorsed Mayor Cory Booker as their candidate for US Senate.
"We were pleased to facilitate a meet and greet between Mayor Booker and Indian-Americans of diverse backgrounds from across the state at which they endorsed Booker for US Senate," Upendra J Chivukula said.
"Men and women from the fields of medicine, hospitality, business, law, information technology and others, came together to support the candidacy of one of the brightest stars of the Democratic Party at a special event held at Edison," Chivukula, a leading Democrat, said.
Booker, the present mayor of Newark in New Jersey and promising Democratic leader of the state, said he believed India and the US were natural allies and supported the continuation of strengthening relations between the world's largest and oldest democracies.
He also said that India was an emerging giant and it was critical for Washington and New Delhi to build stronger ties. Booker supports a legal pathway to immigration for the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants and considers America's new immigrants to be job creators. "When I was at Stanford, I remember that an estimated one-third of the start ups in Silicon Valley were by Indian-Americans who have been major job creators for our nation," Booker said.
He visited India in 2000 for spiritual reasons. I feel a deep connection with Indian philosophy and thought, he said. "I have studied the Vedanta philosophy and a Bhagavad Gita sits on my desk. I was also inspired to become a vegetarian," Booker said.Chivukula said Booker is an exemplary candidate for US Senate for all state residents including, Indian-Americans. He has started a turnaround of New Jersey's largest city, including significantly bringing down crime in his first term as mayor when he personally patrolled the streets until 4 am, Chivukula said.
He has also implemented education reform to help provide hope and opportunity for the children of Newark, Chivukula added. Booker has been an innovative leader, working to attract business and private funding to Newark, including getting corporations such as Panasonic to move their headquarters to the city and inspiring Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to give a USD 100 million educational grant to improve Newark schools, he said.
"We look forward to Booker taking his brand of leadership and service to Washington to create a positive change," Chivukula said. "Booker's understanding and love of Indian philosophy and culture make him an ideal candidate for US Senate for Indian-Americans who can expect him to be an advocate for stronger US-India relations and to fight for issues like immigration and racial equality," he added.