Suraj Patel
{{Short description|American politician (born 1983)}}
{{Infobox politician
|name = Suraj Patel
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|12|20}}
|birth_place = Mississippi, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|education = Stanford University (BA)
University of Cambridge (MPhil)
New York University (JD)
}}
Suraj Patel is an American lawyer, professor, and politician.{{Cite news |last1=Goldmacher |first1=Shane |last2=Mays |first2=Jeffery C. |date=2018-06-21 |title=For Democrats Challenging Party Incumbents, Insurgency Has Its Limits |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/nyregion/congress-primaries-democrats-midterm-ny.html |access-date=2022-07-11 |issn=0362-4331}} Patel is a member of the Democratic party,{{Cite web |last=Goba |first=Kadia |title=Suraj Patel Is Running In A Chaotic Primary Against Two Incumbent Democrats |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kadiagoba/suraj-patel-ny12-maloney-nadler-primary |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=BuzzFeed News |language=en}} and was a candidate for the newly created 12th congressional district in Manhattan, New York City.{{Cite news |last=Fandos |first=Nicholas |date=2022-07-14 |title=In Battle to Beat Democratic Titans, a Lawyer in Sneakers Bets on Youth |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/nyregion/suraj-patel-nadler-maloney.html |access-date=2022-07-14 |issn=0362-4331}} The district covers the northern end of Central Park southward to Union Square.{{Cite web |last=Durkin |first=Erin |title=Nadler, Maloney could face off in primary with redrawn district |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/16/maloney-nadler-primary-redrawn-district-00032775 |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Kornbluh |first=Jacob |date=2020-04-13 |title=Former Obama staffer Suraj Patel tries his luck again against Rep. Maloney |url=https://jewishinsider.com/2020/04/former-obama-staffer-suraj-patel-tries-his-luck-again-against-rep-maloney/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Jewish Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last1=Chidan|first1=Rajghatta|date=Jul 19, 2020 |title=Indian-American rookie shakes party establishment in Democrat primary; Suraj Patel could be first desi lawmaker from NYC - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/indian-american-rookie-shakes-party-establishment-in-democrat-primary-suraj-patel-could-be-first-desi-lawmaker-from-nyc/articleshow/77051317.cms |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=The Times of India |language=en}} Patel is an adjunct professor at NYU Stern, lecturing on business ethics.{{Cite web |last=Baxley |first=Julia |date=2019-09-26 |title=Stern Professor Prepares for Second Congressional Run |url=https://nyunews.com/news/2019/09/25/nyu-stern-professor-rerunning-congress/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Washington Square News}}
Electoral history
Patel first ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Representative Carolyn Maloney in 2018, and again in 2020.{{Cite web |last=Parrott |first=Max |date=2022-06-15 |title=A look at Suraj Patel, the YIMBY candidate |url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/manhattan/the-villager/a-look-at-suraj-patel-the-yimby-candidate/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.amny.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Suraj Patel to challenge Carolyn Maloney again |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/02/14/suraj-patel-to-run-against-carolyn-maloney-after-coming-within-points-of-defeating-her-in-2020 |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.ny1.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Fandos |first=Nicholas |author1-link=Nicholas Fandos |date=2022-05-30 |title=Maloney vs. Nadler? New York Must Pick a Side (East or West). |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/30/nyregion/jerry-nadler-carolyn-maloney.html |access-date=2022-07-11 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-24 |title=One thing voters agree on: Fresh voices needed in politics |url=https://apnews.com/article/campaigns-presidential-elections-election-2020-carolyn-maloney-congress-d4dd6639d4ff22444bf7f4b63412964e |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}
Patel announced his candidacy for the 2022 US congressional elections on February 14, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Suraj Patel to challenge N.Y. Rep. Carolyn Maloney for third election in a row |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-suraj-patel-primary-carolyn-maloney-third-election-20220214-rp77rj7gnnd5tkvhvyrbn7wiv4-story.html |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=New York Daily News}}{{Cite web |last=Axelrod |first=Tal |date=2022-02-14 |title=New York Democrat Suraj Patel sets up rematch against Maloney |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/593940-new-york-democrat-suraj-patel-sets-up-rematch-against-maloney/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} 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,{{Cite web |title=Yang Backs Patel Over Heavyweights Nadler, Maloney in Heated NYC Congress Battle |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/andrew-yang-to-back-suraj-patel-in-heated-nyc-congressional-race-with-maloney-nadler/3732723/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=NBC New York |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Sirota |first=Sara |title=Steven Donziger, Lawyer Who Fought Big Oil, Endorses Suraj Patel for Congress |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/05/31/new-york-primary-steven-donziger-suraj-patel/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=The Intercept |language=en}} and journalist Matthew Yglesias.{{Cite web |last=Yglesias |first=Matthew |date= |title=It would be awfully nice to see someone with as clear and insightful a vision as @surajpatelnyc make it to congress. |url=https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1539745366890905601 |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Twitter |language=en}} Running against Maloney and Jerrold Nadler in the redrawn 12th congressional district, Patel finished in third place with 19 percent of the vote.{{cite news |last1=Fandos |first1=Nicholas |author1-link=Nicholas Fandos |title=Nadler Routs Maloney in Marquee Showdown of Bruising New York Primaries |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/nyregion/new-york-primary-nadler.html |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824104911/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/nyregion/new-york-primary-nadler.html |archive-date=24 August 2022 |url-status=live |language=en}}
A 30-second campaign advertisement for Patel was required to remove at least one "sensitive" topic before it aired on the streaming service Hulu.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-13 |title=Hulu Demanded Democratic Candidate Cut 'Sensitive' Issues Like Abortion and Guns from Campaign Ad |url=https://jezebel.com/hulu-suraj-patel-campaign-ad-sensitive-issues-1849171712 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Jezebel |language=en-us}}{{Cite news |date=2022-07-22 |title=Hulu Rejects Campaign Ads as Politics Collide With Streaming TV |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-22/hulu-rejects-campaign-ads-as-politics-collide-with-streaming-tv |access-date=2022-07-25}} The original advertisement had included footage of the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and references to climate change.{{Citation |title=They Failed Us {{!}} Suraj Patel 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BeUkLHVMvE |language=en |access-date=2022-07-13}}{{Citation |title=They Failed Us {{!}} Suraj Patel 2022 (Hulu) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKwhE0bWfPs |language=en |access-date=2022-07-13}}
Political positions
Patel describes himself as a "practical and progressive" Democrat.{{Cite web |title=Suraj Patel 2022 |url=https://www.surajpatel.nyc/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Suraj Patel 2022 |language=en-US}} 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. A self-described "YIMBY", Patel supports the theory of market urbanism that encourages large-scale infrastructure and zoning reforms to address high housing costs.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Challenger Suraj Patel Airs First TV Ads In Race Against New York's Maloney, Nadler |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/suraj-patel-first-ad-new-york-house-primary_n_62bd6aeee4b0a21d8422fbff |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} Patel has advocated for increased road safety standards and reforming street design.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-02 |title=Suraj Patel: Feds Can Do Better on Transit, Bike Lanes and Road Violence (So Where are Nadler and Maloney?) |url=https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/08/02/suraj-patel-feds-can-do-better-on-transit-bike-lanes-and-road-violence-so-where-are-nadler-and-maloney/ |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=Streetsblog New York City |language=en-US}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Suraj |title=The Abundant Society: How To Build A Better America - For Everyone |url=https://www.gothamgazette.com/130-opinion/11301-abundant-society-better-america-suraj-patel |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=Gotham Gazette |language=en-gb}}
Patel has previously advocated for increased competition from challengers in congressional primary races.{{Cite news |title=Analysis {{!}} The Trailer: Five takeaways from another big fundraising quarter |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/19/trailer-trailer-five-takeaways-another-big-fundraising-quarter/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |title=Against the Democratic Party's challenger-consultant blacklist |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-the-democratic-partys-blacklist-20190529-vm6jrby5ajdmfccycvadwa3w7e-story.html |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=New York Daily News}} Patel supports congestion pricing.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-12 |title=Congressional candidate talks high rent, crime in NYC |url=https://pix11.com/news/politics/pixonpolitics/on-the-record-with-congressional-candidate-suraj-patel-defeating-trumpism/ |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=PIX11 |language=en-US}}
Personal life
Patel was born in Mississippi to parents of Gujarati Indian origin, and grew up in Indianapolis.{{Cite web |last=Kalan |first=David |date=March 5, 2020 |title=Full Q&A with Stern adjunct professor and congressional candidate Suraj Patel |url=https://sternoppy.com/2020/03/full-qa-with-stern-adjunct-professor-and-congressional-candidate-suraj-patel/ |access-date=July 12, 2022 |website=The Stern Opportunity |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |author=Bharat Yagnik|date=July 21, 2022 |title=Gujarati ex-Obama aide contests NY seat for US Congress - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/gujarati-ex-obama-aide-contests-ny-seat-for-us-congress/articleshow/93015847.cms |access-date=July 25, 2022 |newspaper=The Times of India |language=en}} He speaks English and Gujarati.{{Cite web |last=Mehta |first=Dhrumil |date=January 28, 2021 |title=Many South Asian Americans Tap Into Their Community To Kick-Start Their Political Careers |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-south-asian-americans-tap-into-their-community-to-kick-start-their-political-careers/ |access-date=July 12, 2022 |website=FiveThirtyEight |language=en-US}} In 2022, Patel became engaged to Emily Bina, a producer at The Atlantic.{{Cite news |title=RICHARD JOHNSON: Suraj Patel, who is running for Congress, just got engaged |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-richard-johnson-suraj-patel-engaged-congress-20220803-uhhtplnymnhonm2f7h2rive4pi-story.html |access-date=August 5, 2022 |newspaper=New York Daily News}}
Selected works
- 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, 2012{{Cite journal |last=Patel |first=Suraj |date=2012 |title=Delayed Justice: A Case Study of Texaco and the Republic of Ecuador's Operations, Harms, and Possible Redress in the Ecuadorian Amazon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24673677 |journal=Tulane Environmental Law Journal |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=71–110 |jstor=24673677 |issn=1047-6857}}
- The Pandemic Shows Why the U.S. Must Invest in Public Research Scientific American, 2020{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Suraj |title=The Pandemic Shows Why the U.S. Must Invest in Public Research |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-pandemic-shows-why-the-us-must-invest-in-public-research/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Scientific American Blog Network |language=en}}
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Suraj}}
Category:Asian-American people in New York (state) politics
Category:American people of Gujarati descent
Category:American politicians of Indian descent
Category:Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections
Category:New York University faculty
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:New York University alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:New York (state) Democrats
Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections
Category:Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections