Suraj Patel

Suraj Patel is an American lawyer, professor, and politician.[1] Patel is a member of the Democratic party,[2] and was a candidate for the newly-created 12th congressional district in Manhattan, New York City.[3][4] The district covers the northern end of Central Park southward to Union Square.[5]

Suraj Patel
Personal details
Born (1983-12-20) December 20, 1983
Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
University of Cambridge (MPhil)
New York University (JD)

Patel served in the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign as an organizer, and later on the advance team for the White House from 2008 to 2016, working on Obama's 2012 reelection.[6][7] Patel is an adjunct professor at NYU Stern, lecturing on business ethics.[8]

Electoral history

Patel first ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Representative Carolyn Maloney in 2018, and again in 2020.[3][9][10][11]

Patel announced his candidacy for the 2022 US congressional elections on February 14, 2022.[12][13] He was endorsed by environmental lawyer Steven Donziger in May 2022, by former Democratic presidential and New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in June 2022,[14][15] and journalist Matthew Yglesias.[16] Running against Maloney and Jerrold Nadler in the redrawn 12th congressional district, Patel finished in third place with 19 percent of the vote.[17]

A 30-second campaign advertisement for Patel was required to remove at least one "sensitive" topic before it aired on the streaming service Hulu.[18][19] The original advertisement had included footage of the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and references to climate change.[18][20][21]

Political positions

Patel describes himself as a "practical and progressive" Democrat.[22] His platform for the 2022 US congressional election has included a technocratic focus on reducing housing and transit regulation, along with support for rezoning initiatives.[3] A self-described "YIMBY", Patel supports the theory of market urbanism that encourages large-scale infrastructure and zoning reforms to address high housing costs.[23] Patel has advocated for increased road safety standards and reforming street design.[24]

Patel is a proponent of “The Abundant Society” plan, a supply-side progressivism policy targeted at reducing inflation through a combination of tariff reductions, suspending the Jones Act and Foreign Dredge Act, and expanding domestic manufacturing through passing federal spending bills like the COMPETES Act.[25][4]

Patel has previously advocated for increased competition from challengers in congressional primary races.[26][27] Patel supports congestion pricing.[28]

Personal life

Patel was born in Mississippi to parents of Gujarati Indian origin, and grew up in Indianapolis.[29][30] He speaks English and Gujarati.[31] In 2022, Patel became engaged to Emily Bina, a producer at The Atlantic.[32]

Selected works

References
  1. Goldmacher, Shane; Mays, Jeffery C. (2018-06-21). "For Democrats Challenging Party Incumbents, Insurgency Has Its Limits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  2. Goba, Kadia. "Suraj Patel Is Running In A Chaotic Primary Against Two Incumbent Democrats". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  3. Parrott, Max (2022-06-15). "A look at Suraj Patel, the YIMBY candidate". www.amny.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  4. Fandos, Nicholas (2022-07-14). "In Battle to Beat Democratic Titans, a Lawyer in Sneakers Bets on Youth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  5. Durkin, Erin. "Nadler, Maloney could face off in primary with redrawn district". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  6. Kornbluh, Jacob (2020-04-13). "Former Obama staffer Suraj Patel tries his luck again against Rep. Maloney". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  7. Chidan, Rajghatta (Jul 19, 2020). "Indian-American rookie shakes party establishment in Democrat primary; Suraj Patel could be first desi lawmaker from NYC - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  8. Baxley, Julia (2019-09-26). "Stern Professor Prepares for Second Congressional Run". Washington Square News. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  9. "Suraj Patel to challenge Carolyn Maloney again". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  10. Fandos, Nicholas (2022-05-30). "Maloney vs. Nadler? New York Must Pick a Side (East or West)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  11. "One thing voters agree on: Fresh voices needed in politics". AP NEWS. 2022-07-24. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  12. "Suraj Patel to challenge N.Y. Rep. Carolyn Maloney for third election in a row". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  13. Axelrod, Tal (2022-02-14). "New York Democrat Suraj Patel sets up rematch against Maloney". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  14. "Yang Backs Patel Over Heavyweights Nadler, Maloney in Heated NYC Congress Battle". NBC New York. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  15. Sirota, Sara. "Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Fought Big Oil, Endorses Suraj Patel for Congress". The Intercept. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  16. Yglesias, Matthew. "It would be awfully nice to see someone with as clear and insightful a vision as @surajpatelnyc make it to congress". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  17. Fandos, Nicholas (24 August 2022). "Nadler Routs Maloney in Marquee Showdown of Bruising New York Primaries". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  18. "Hulu Demanded Democratic Candidate Cut 'Sensitive' Issues Like Abortion and Guns from Campaign Ad". Jezebel. 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  19. "Hulu Rejects Campaign Ads as Politics Collide With Streaming TV". Bloomberg.com. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  20. They Failed Us | Suraj Patel 2022, retrieved 2022-07-13
  21. They Failed Us | Suraj Patel 2022 (Hulu), retrieved 2022-07-13
  22. "Suraj Patel 2022". Suraj Patel 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  23. "Challenger Suraj Patel Airs First TV Ads In Race Against New York's Maloney, Nadler". HuffPost. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  24. "Suraj Patel: Feds Can Do Better on Transit, Bike Lanes and Road Violence (So Where are Nadler and Maloney?)". Streetsblog New York City. 2022-08-02. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  25. Patel, Suraj. "The Abundant Society: How To Build A Better America - For Everyone". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  26. "Analysis | The Trailer: Five takeaways from another big fundraising quarter". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  27. "Against the Democratic Party's challenger-consultant blacklist". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  28. "Congressional candidate talks high rent, crime in NYC". PIX11. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  29. Kalan, David (March 5, 2020). "Full Q&A with Stern adjunct professor and congressional candidate Suraj Patel". The Stern Opportunity. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  30. Bharat Yagnik (July 21, 2022). "Gujarati ex-Obama aide contests NY seat for US Congress - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  31. Mehta, Dhrumil (January 28, 2021). "Many South Asian Americans Tap Into Their Community To Kick-Start Their Political Careers". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  32. "RICHARD JOHNSON: Suraj Patel, who is running for Congress, just got engaged". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  33. Patel, Suraj (2012). "Delayed Justice: A Case Study of Texaco and the Republic of Ecuador's Operations, Harms, and Possible Redress in the Ecuadorian Amazon". Tulane Environmental Law Journal. 26 (1): 71–110. ISSN 1047-6857. JSTOR 24673677.
  34. Patel, Suraj. "The Pandemic Shows Why the U.S. Must Invest in Public Research". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
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