Written by: Michigan House Dems

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 13, 2021 — State Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) was sworn in today as representative for the 2021-2022 legislative session. The swearing-in ceremony marked the formal opening of Michigan’s 101st Legislature.

“It is the honor of my lifetime to be trusted with this opportunity to work on behalf of the people in my community,” said Puri. “Especially during a time of such great struggle throughout our state, it is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I look forward to getting started, and doing my part in ensuring we are building a better Michigan that works for everyone.”

Rep. Puri is serving his first term representing the 21st House District, which includes the cities of Canton, Belleville and Van Buren Township. Puri received his MBA from the University of Chicago, and in addition to his professional experience in the automotive industry, has a long history of community service.

Source: https://housedems.com/puri-sworn-in-as-representative-for-21st-house-district/

Written by: Priya Mann (ClickOnDetroit)

CANTON, Mich. – Despite the cold weather and ongoing health crisis, on Saturday Metro Detroiters joined in on protests happening in several countries in support of Indian farmers.

Hundreds of Indian-Americans from across Metro Detroit gathered in Heritage Park in Canton for a peaceful rally to show support for farmers.

“There are farmers out there who need our help,” said Michigan Rep. Ranjeev Puri. “We fight for the values we believe in and we stand with our neighbor.”

Farmers from all over India have been protesting new laws enacted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Protesters say the bills would eliminate the minimum price for crops, which would de-regulate the industry and leave millions of farmers to live below the poverty line.

One Michigan protester, Dr. Amanjot Sarao, comes from a long line of farmers. She immigrated to the U.S. from Punjab when she was a little girl.

“It hurts me to see these farmers, who are trying to put food on the table and feed their families -- they won’t be able to do that if they can’t have basic human rights,” Sarao said.

“As we were driving up (to the protest), I looked at my mom. I did not imagine so many people to be here,” Sarao added. “I was shocked.”

Protesters said they felt proud of their Metro Detroit neighbors for coming together and speaking up for those whose voices are being silenced in India.

Source: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/12/05/hundreds-rally-in-canton-in-support-of-indian-farmers-facing-controversial-legislation/

Written by: CtoI News Desk (Connected To India)

Highlighting the growing political influence of the community, more than a dozen Indian Americans, including five women, have won state-level elections, marking a first for the community in many instances.

The five women elected to state legislatures are Jenifer Rajkumar to the New York State Assembly, Nima Kulkarni to the Kentucky State House, Kesha Ram to the Vermont State Senate, Vandana Slatter to the Washington State House and Padma Kuppa to the Michigan State House.

In the New York State Assembly's 38th Legislative District, Democrat Indian-American Jenifer Rajkumar overwhelmingly won the race over her Republican counterpart Giovanni A Perna with 65.56 per cent to 27.83 per cent.

In Vermont, Kesha Ram became the first woman of colour in the state Senate. Ram, who had previously served in Vermont’s House of Representatives from 2009 through 2017, was among six winners in Chittenden. 

And in Michigan, Padma Kuppa sought re-election to her state House seat. The Democratic state representative received 30,578 votes for 55.05 per cent of the vote, topping Republican Andrew Sosnoski’s 24,967 votes for 44.95 per cent.

Sri Thanedar, who has previously run unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, was seeking a seat in the Michigan state House in the 3rd Legislative District. Against Republican Anita Vinson and Stephen Boyle, Thanedar won in a landslide. The Indian American received 92.8 per cent to Vinson’s 4.3 percent and Boyle’s 2.9 per cent.

“Thank you so much for your vote in this important election. I am humbled and grateful for the support from the residents of Detroit's 3rd district, my family, my team and friends. I promise to do all I can to improve the quality of life for all. Let’s work together as I alone cannot accomplish much without your active participation,” Thanedar said in a Facebook post.

Ranjeev Puri was looking to win the seat in the Michigan state House in the 21st Legislative District. In taking on the Republican Lauren Hess, the Democratic Puri received 58.6 per cent of the vote to Hess’s 41.4 per cent – 31,735 to 22,384 – to win the seat.

Niraj Antani has been declared elected to the Ohio State Senate, while Jay Chaudhuri has been re-elected to the North Carolina State Senate. Amish Shah has been elected to the Arizona State House, Nikil Saval to the Pennsylvania State Senate, Ranjeev Puri to the Michigan State House and Jeremy Cooney to the New York State Senate. Ash Kalra has been re-elected to the California State Assembly for the third consecutive term. Ravi Sandill has won the District Court Judge polls in Texas.

In Pennsylvania, former journalist Nikil Saval, who beat longtime incumbent Larry Farnese in the June Democratic primary for the District 1 state Senate seat, won the general in an unopposed race.

Source: https://www.connectedtoindia.com/over-a-dozen-indian-americans-elected-to-us-state-assemblies-8546.html

Friends,

WE DID IT! We won. And, we made history!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I am truly humbled. Thank you to each and every one of you who believed in me, in our campaign. To my family and friends - thank you for your unconditional love and support. To every volunteer, contributor, and voter - we did this together. We are building a stronger Michigan. 

We made history. The people have chosen to elect the first minority to ever represent House District 21; the first Sikh-American in Michigan’s legislative history, and the youngest South Asian in Michigan’s legislative history. Today, let’s celebrate the glass ceilings we have broken up and down the ballot. Tomorrow, we get back to work on building stronger communities and a better Michigan. 

This win is not just mine, it's ours. As our volunteer and supporter, every conversation you had with friends and family, every text you sent, or donation you made brought us closer to our goal of making history, and paving the way for elections to come.

Thank you for Believing In Ranjeev! I am so proud to be your Representative-elect for Michigan House District 21 serving Canton, Belleville, and Van Buren Township.

Your State Representative-elect,

Ranjeev

Written by: Kyle Melinn (MIRS)

Shortly after Ranjeev PURI wrapped up his work on President Barack OBAMA's successful 2012 re-election campaign, the President himself addressed Puri and a couple of his colleagues.

The then-28-year-old oversaw the nuts-and-bolts of various budgetary tasks for the campaign. He had already been "blown away" by the experience.

Barack Obama was a driving reason Puri even got into politics. When he saw Obama speak for the first time at the 2004 Democratic convention, he saw someone who was "speaking to me." In 2008, he gave his time to help a tall, scrawny man of color with a strange-sounding last name become the President of the United States.

Now here he was, with Obama and a few of his colleagues. Obama told them this would be his last race. This was the end of the line.

"This is your time," Puri remembers the President telling him. "It's time for you to go into your communities. The representation that you want to see starts with you."

"How often do you get to hear that?" asked Puri, remembering the exchange. "I was crying. He was crying. I went home that night and I told my wife, 'I know what I need to do, Babe.'"

Today, Puri is one General Election vote away from being part of that change as an elected member of the Michigan House of Representatives for the 21st District. Now a member of the Fiat-Chrysler Leadership Development Program, Puri envisions himself advancing policies that will position Michigan to the forefront of the next generation of automobile production.

But before we get to that, who is Ranjeev Puri? Who is this first-time candidate who had squirreled away $100,000 for his House campaign before the calendar even flipped to 2020? The Democrat who racked up local endorsement after local endorsement, including that of term-limited Rep. Kristy PAGAN (D-Canton), before the filing deadline? Who now only needs to win Tuesday in a 60.5% Democratic-base district to secure his spot in the 101st Michigan legislative session?

First of all, Puri is a married father of two young boys whose parents came to United States from India with nothing more than a couple suitcases and a little money in their pocket.

His father was an engineer and his mom a nurse. They took a risk to create a better life for their future children. They mortgaged their home. They fit their belongings into a couple suitcases. They could have flown anywhere, but settled on Chicago. Someone his mother went to nursing school with was living there at the time and invited them to come.

Back in the late '60s and early '70s, the United States opened their immigration policies to Southeast Asia, allowing passage for those with engineering, doctor and nursing backgrounds. Puri's parents were one of those.

It took a couple weeks, but his father eventually found a job as a machinist in Wisconsin and the couple settled in Racine, 20 miles south of Milwaukee. There, his family eventually established the first Sikh Gurdwara, where Sikhs come together for worship, in Wisconsin.

"There was no Google. There was no playbook on what to do when they got there. They really didn't know what they were getting into," Puri said. "They took a risk and it worked out."

Puri spent his early years in Wisconsin but bounced around the Midwest a little in his youth. He attended pre-school and kindergarten in Canton, the hometown of his aunt and godmother. He ended up in Chicago, but he still had friends and connections in Wisconsin.

He'll never forget Aug. 5, 2012, when he saw his friends grieving outside the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, after a gunman shot dead six worshippers in a domestic terrorism incident.

"I saw our friends grieving on television. People who were lost attended me and my wife's wedding," Puri said. "And then, six or 12 hours later, the story was gone. It was a blip on CNN and then it was over. It made me understand that our community needed more representation. It stuck with me. It's something that's always on my mind."

After a Google internship in California in 2013, Puri and his wife, Nidhi, moved to Canton for Puri's new job with Chrysler. It's this work on the future of automotive that ignites his passion. Seeing what Google is doing with automated vehicles and electric-powered cars inspires him to see Michigan take a leadership role.

The airport-to-venue shuttle that's being planned for the next North American International Auto Show is great, but "Michigan needs to be doing more."

Some countries are talking about banning the combustible engine by 2024. Scandinavia is looking to electronic conductive charges built into a highway to power vehicles as they're moving down the road. The changing dynamic of car ownership is real. There's a spectrum of changes on which Germany, China and California are more than happy to take the lead.

"This is where things are headed," Puri said. "We're doing OK if we were any other state, but we're not doing OK if we're Michigan and Detroit. We should be leading the way as the Auto Capitol of the World. Michigan needs to be doing more."

This starts with recruiting and training STEM-level talent in state while creating the atmosphere of having the industry of tomorrow, he said.

It wasn't too long ago the move to politics happened. He was venting to his wife about some issue not moving the way he wanted. She told him, "The representation that you want to see starts with you."

Having Obama's words thrown back at him spurred him into action. He and his wife welcomed their second son a little more than a year ago. The timing wasn't perfect, but he took the leap shortly after the birth.

For Canton, one of Michigan's rapidly diversifying towns, Puri's pending election has been inspiring. Immigrants from all over the globe are coming here. To be the first person of color representing the 21st District wasn't missed by the local residents.

"There was a certain amount of pride to get over the hump, to break that glass ceiling," he said. "To see people being elected no matter what their name sounds like was something a lot of people were excited about."

In a way, though, it's prophetic. For this Canton community, change is starting with Ranjeev Puri.