Susheela Jayapal (Photo: http://susheelaformultco.com/)

With her sweeping victory on May 15, Jayapal becomes the first Indian American ever elected to office in the state of Oregon.

The Indian American Impact Fund(“Impact Fund”) congratulates Susheela Jayapal on her overwhelming primary election victory on May 15. In her race for the District 2 seat on the Multnomah County Commission, Jayapal appears to have earned nearly 60% of the votes in the four-way primary, thus avoiding a runoff election this November.

“Last night, Susheela Jayapal made history by becoming the first Indian American to hold elected office in the state of Oregon,” said Deepak Raj, co-founder of Impact and chair of the Impact Fund, May 16. “We were proud to endorse Commissioner-Elect Jayapal’s campaign and are confident that, like her sister Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, she will be a source of great leadership and inspiration for our community.”

An attorney by training, Jayapal previously served as General Counsel of adidas America, where she worked to improve conditions at factories in South East Asia. Earlier in her legal career, she represented the government in suing corrupt and negligent bank officers, and provided free legal services to people seeking asylum. She has spent more than 15 years as a community advocate.

Jayapal’s victory marks Impact Fund’s second win of the 2018 cycle, following Ram Villivalam’s decisive primary election victory in his campaign for Illinois State Senate. In addition to endorsing Villivalam, Impact Fund also invested resources to help his campaign engage and turn out Indian American voters. On March 6, Villivalam decisively won his primary election; and since he is unopposed in November’s general election, is positioned to be the first Indian American to ever serve in the Illinois state legislature.

“Commissioner-Elect Jayapal’s victory reminds us that every election matters,” added Raj Goyle, co-founder of Impact and a former member of the Kansas House of Representatives. “From coast to coast, from County Commission to the U.S. Congress, talented Indian American candidates are running for office and winning. Impact Fund is proud to stand with them.”