Wiseup Tx

Sima Ladjevardian is running for United States Congress!  The 2nd Congressional district covers the west part of Houston, and then extends around the north side of the city, including some suburbs.  Sima talks about her background as an Iranian immigrant, and what she envisions for our country from immigration reform to managing the Covid-19 pandemic.  Before deciding to run for office herself, she worked to help other candidates as a political activist (including Beto O'Rourke). Learn more about her on her website.  WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

WiseUp TX founder and board member, Azra Siddiqi, returns to the podcast to talk about the upcoming 2020 Election. It's a podcast jam-packed with important information such as who is on the ballot, how to participate in mail-in voting (if you qualify), utilizing safe practices to vote during a global health pandemic, what to do if you face voter intimidation, where to find your polling locations, sample ballots, and why you should vote. On the voter page of our website, www.wiseuptx.org, you will find all the information you need to vote. It is a one stop shop with your polling locations, sample ballots, candidate infographics, your local newspaper's voter guide, FAQs, and podcast interviews! Let's make sure the Texas South Asian community is ready to WiseUp, MaskUp, and VoteUp and Down the Ballot! 

Sri Preston Kulkarni is a South Asian candidate running for U.S. Congress in Texas' 22nd Congressional district (Suburbs of Houston such as Sugarland, Pearland, Katy, and Clearlake).  If he wins he will be the first person of color to represent this majority minority district.  He ran in 2018 and started the grassroots effort to get the South Asian community involved in a political campaign.  In this interview, he talks in depth about creating a coalition of South Asian voters and the diversity within the South Asian community itself.  He talks about "relational organizing," explaining how campaigns should rely on organic relationships among communities to reach out to more voters.  Tune in to hear more about his campaign. You can visit his website here.    WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

Candace Valenzuela is running to represent a diverse district of suburbs between Dallas and Fort Worth (such as Addison, Irving, Grapevine, Southlake, Carrolton, Euless, etc). This district includes parts of Dallas County, Denton County, and Tarrant County.  She talks about the South Asian population in her district, and the power of diverse representation.  She discusses the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic particularly on essential workers and her desire to serve those Texans.  Finally, she talks about Islamophobia in the district which has been used by other political candidates to garner support.  Learn more about her on her website.  WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

State Representative Ed Thompson currently represents District 29, which includes Pearland and other suburbs south of Houston.  He talks about his service in this district as the State Rep. since 2012 and his current run as the Republican candidate.  He talks about the Covid-19 pandemic and its toll, but also about the continued economic growth and opportunity despite it. Learn more about him on his website. WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party.

Mubasher Warraich is running for city council in the suburb of Euless (DFW metroplex).  He talks about bringing more of the technology industry to the city and his passion and focus on affordable childcare for working parents.  He talks about how South Asians could get much more involved in the political process and encourages others to run for office in the spirit of giving back to the community.  You can learn more about him on his website.   WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

MJ Hegar is running for the United States Senate as the Democratic candidate against longtime incumbent, John Cornyn.  She has served our country as a combat veteran, she has worked in the healthcare industry, and she is a working mom. She talks about how all these experiences led her to run for office and how she thinks he can make life better for Texans!   You can learn more about her on her website.   WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

Judge Staci Williams is running for TX Supreme Court as a democratic candidate.  This is a statewide race that will be on every ballot this November. Judge Williams currently serves as Judge of the 101st District Court in Dallas County. Judge Williams talks about the important decisions the Texas Supreme Court has made lately, and how she could serve Texans on our highest court after her years of experience as a trial Judge and a practicing attorney.  As a woman of color, Judge Williams believes it is time the Texas Supreme Court reflect the diversity of the State of Texas.   You can learn more about here on her website.   WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party.  

Current Harris County Clerk, Chris Hollins, talks about safe and accessible voting this election seasons.  Harris County is the 3rd largest county in the nation, and in his role, Hollins manages the election and protects voting rights, a role he does not take lightly.  Listen to hear about unique things Harris County (Houston area) has done from increased polling locations,  infrastructure around mail-in ballots, language access technology, and social distancing!  Some of the initiatives are being questioned by the State of Texas, resulting in a lawsuit.   Learn more about voting in Harris County and about Chris here.   WiseUp TX is a nonpartisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or lawsuit. 

Travis Boldt is the Democratic candidate for Texas House of Representative for House District 29. He is challenging Republican incumbent Ed Thomson. House District 29 covers Pearland and suburbs southeast of Houston. A small business owner, husband to a public school educator, and father, Travis shares what inspired him to run for state house representative and the issues are front and center for his campaign. You can learn more about him on his website.   WiseUp TX is a non-partisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party.

United States Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX 7) of Harris County won a historic election in 2018, as the first woman to win the district and the first Democrat to win the district since 1967.  She shares how through partnership great work can be accomplished in Congress.  She reminds our listeners that engaging our democracy can be rewarding and even fun.  Congresswoman Fletcher also talks about her work to honor Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a police officer who was killed in the line of duty in Harris County and who was a trailblazer for the Sikh community. Learn more about her on her website. WiseUp TX is nonpartisan and does not endorse any candidate or party.

Areeba Amer hosts this episode! Areeba is a journalism and economics student at The University of Texas at Austin and a WiseUp TX intern since 2008! Sana Meghani is on the Get Out the Vote Committee for WiseUp TX and is hosting some podcast interviews this season!  She has been working hard to get how to vote materials done in Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Nepali, Tamil, Urdu, and Punjabi!  Hear more about her life outside of WiseUp TX and how she landed in her dream job!  Zohaib Qadri is also on the Get Out the Vote Committee and is working on candidate profiles so our followers can get educated on all the down ballot races!  Zohaib's career includes working on a variety of campaigns and for a Texas State Rep. Tune in to learn more!  Read more about them on the WiseUp TX website. 

Jeff Whitfield is running for Texas State Rep. as the democratic candidate for District 92.  This district is in the "Mid Cities" between Dallas and Fort Worth, including Hurst, Euless and Bedford.  He is a veteran and an attorney whose work has taken him around the globe, but he was raised in the Mid Cities area, and settled down here with his own family.  Now, he wants to serve this community by improving healthcare, education, and creating jobs post Covid-19 as a State Rep.  Visit his website to learn more. WiseUp TX does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

Mike Siegel is a civil rights lawyer and former public school teacher running for Congress in Texas’ 10th Congressional District, which stretches from Houston to Austin.  Mike discusses why he is running again and how he plans to win this time, the importance of relational organizing, the issues his voters are talking about, and the importance of South Asian voters. Learn about him on his website. WiseUp TX is a non-partisan nonprofit and does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

In this interview, Representative Gary Gates (R - District 28) talks about how he won his special election runoff in January 2020, and his plans for the district as the Representative if he wins again this November.  Gates discusses the impacts of Covid-19 and why he thinks his business experience makes him suited to bring Texans out of it.   To learn more about him, visit his website.   WiseUp TX is a non-partisan nonprofit and does not support any candidate or political party. 

Eliz Markowitz is running for Texas State Representative in District 28 (Suburbs of Houston).  In this interview, she talks about the special election earlier this year that gave her campaign an early start, and why she expects to win this time against the same candidate who won the special election. She says she noticed how her suburban district was changing, but leadership stayed the same.  That need for change sparked her moral obligation to run for this office.   You can learn more about her on her website.   WiseUp TX does not endorse any candidate or political party. 

Punam Kaji is a hosting and managing the WiseUp TX Podcast this election cycle, but who is she?  Learn about her biography and the journey that fuels her passion for WiseUp TX and South Asian voter engagement. Neal Sarkar is a host of the WiseUP TX Podcast.  Tune in to hear his story.  Learn about the research and policy work he is doing with WiseUp TX to better answer the question "What does the South Asian community want and need from elected officials in Texas?" Learn more about Punam and Neal on the WiseUp TX website. 

Sharon Hirsch is running for Texas State Representative for House District 66, which includes West Plano and far North Dallas. She discusses how after losing by just 391 votes in 2018, she decided to run again in 2020 on a platform of public education, expanding Medicaid access in Texas, gun safety, and ensuring fair maps when it comes to redistricting. Learn more about her on her website. WiseUp TX is non-partisan and does not endorse any candidate or political party.

Sadaf Haq is running for City Council in Frisco (a suburb of Dallas).  She talks about the leadership positions she has held with various boards before deciding to run for office.  In this interview, she shares how she hopes to pave the way for other South Asians and she talks about how her diverse coalition of supporters inspires her throughout her campaign.   You can learn more about her on her website.

Host Punam Kaji shares a preview of podcast interviews to come between now and Election Day!  The WiseUp TX Podcast will feature interviews from South Asian candidates running throughout Texas, candidates for Texas State House, and candidates for U.S. Congress!