Texas municipal elections: 2 Indian American candidates to face run-off

IN THE Texas municipal elections held last weekend, two Indian-American candidates will face a runoff in June for not securing a clear majority, despite leading the polls in their respective constituencies.

Sanjay Singhal, a candidate in the Sugar Land district 2 city council, and Sukh Kaur, San Antonio, district 1 city councilwoman, will face the run-off elections.

Singhal received 39 per cent of the votes in the May 3 election, while his rival Nasir Hussain got 22 per cent.

An engineer by profession, Singhal is the president of the advocacy group Telfair home owners' association (HOA).

Singhal thanked the voters for their "strong support" and vowed to serve the community.

He said the results have reinforced that candidates should focus on local issues and seek votes based on their past performance and not identity or race.

Sukh Kaur, who finished first among a crowded field of 10 candidates, narrowly missed the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff.

After all the votes were counted on Saturday, Kaur garnered 48.91 per cent, and will now face closest challenger Patty Gibbons, who bagged 17.8 per cent vote.

Kaur, an education consultant, said that she was proud of the team that she had put together.

First elected in 2023, Kaur holds the distinction of being the first Indian American to serve on the San Antonio city council.

In the state of Texas, several Indian Americans have run for elected office at different levels, including federal, state, city, and school boards.

Other Indian Americans who contested the Texas municipal elections had a lackluster run.

Indian American businessman Gurvinder Singh, who contested for the Sachse City Council Place 6, received 37.36 per cent of votes while the winner Matthew Prestenberg, notched 62.64 per cent.

For the Sugar Land City Council at-large Position 1, Indian American Dr George M. Kakkanatt, a US air force veteran, came third with 19.38 per cent votes, behind Jim Vonderhaar (37.11 per cent) and Maggy Horgan (21 per cent).

The first two candidates would face each other at the run-off election.