Indian-American and Filipino, too: A winning combination

MANILA, Philippines - For a while, no one had suspected that one of New York City’s rising political figures, a young, charismatic Indian-American lawyer by the name of Ashok Chandra who is running for a seat in the powerful New York City Council on Nov. 3 after winning the Republican primary in September, is actually half-Filipino.

“Yes, I am,” the Texas-born Chandra tells STARweek. “My mother is from Iloilo and I’ve been to the Philippines eight or nine times. In fact, I’m flying to the Philippines this December to attend the wedding of my cousin Cristina.”

Chandra, who turned 30 in June, is among the growing number of minority and urban Republican candidates who are making their mark in this year’s election. He won the Republican nomination for City Council (District 4) on Manhattan’s East Side, crushing the party’s anointed one, Neal D’Alessio, by 67 percent to 33 percent.

And with his features and Indian sounding name, everyone just assumed that he is a son of Indian immigrants even if Chandra acknowledged in practically every press interview that his mother, Mae Penalver Chandra, is a retired New York City nurse from the Philippines. His father is an orthopedic surgeon from Bangalore.

“My mom, who is now based in Weslaco, Texas with my dad, is very supportive of my candidacy,” Chandra relates. “She visits every now and then to take care of my two-year-old daughter Brielle, while my wife and I are out campaigning.” 

“I love chicken adobo and siopao!” he laughs, “and I understand Tagalog when I was much younger although I never really spoke the language. I know the Marcos-Aquino saga and I saw how Manila grew and became industrialized. I have titos and titas in Iloilo and Quezon City.”

“Once in a while, I attend Filipino events and festivals in New York and New Jersey,” he adds. “But I don’t get asked often about my Filipino side.”    A vice president of the Young Republican Club, the political rookie also has strong connections with the Indian community, particularly among the youth who campaign for him against the incumbent Daniel Garodnick, a popular Democrat. The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. India Political Action Committee has endorsed Chandra, according to reports.

“But I also have Filipino supporters... individuals who are familiar with my Filipino background,” he shares. “A lot of them are nurses from Stuyvesant Town.”

Chandra’s supporters admit their campaign is facing a tough battle with the incumbent. According to some analysts, the Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district – which extends from the Upper East Side to Stuyvesant Town – by more than five to two.

Although a neophyte, the New York Post noted that Chandra “presents a sensible, right-of-center platform – cutting taxes and red tape for small businesses, promoting charter schools – with natural credibility.”

“I don’t want my daughter to grow up in the city my parents left,” he says. 

Chandra’s parents left the Big Apple in 1978 – a year before he was born – pushed out because of high taxation, minimal entrepreneurial opportunities and high crime. They settled in Texas where crime rates and taxes were low, and his father built a flourishing private practice.

Chandra moved to Austin in 1997 to attend the University of Texas, where he majored in biochemistry and English. He moved to New York City in 2003 to attend Fordham University’s School of Law. At Fordham, he was elected managing editor of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal.

After law school, he worked in private practice for two years as an intellectual property attorney and a telecommunications attorney before joining Bloomberg LLP, where he worked on developing new products, in June 2008.

Growing up, Chandra says he always wanted to move to New York and be part of what his father always referred to as “the most competitive place on Earth.” After moving to New York City, his parents came to visit and were astonished by the turnaround the city underwent since the dark days of 1978. 

Chandra says he wants to help ensure that the promise of New York City is alive and well for generations to come, especially now that the city is experiencing serious economic and financial woes.

“It is unconscionable that many empty storefronts are starting to line our streets,” he says.   

If elected, he says he would work hard to make the city an affordable place to live and to set up a business.

“I’m running for City Council because diversity is one of the qualities that make New York City the greatest city in the world,” Chandra states in his campaign. “We need a Council as diverse as our people, with ideas on how to solve our most urgent problems. I will bring a fresh perspective to the City Council, with a no-nonsense, results-oriented agenda that will help us break our reliance on the failed government solutions of decades past and embrace new, innovative ideas to keep our city always moving forward.”