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Maryland state Assemblyman Kumar Barve, 57, running for the U.S. Congress from the 8th District, believes India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most pro-active, pro-American leader from India to date, and if elected, Barve plans to help strengthen the expanding bilateral relationship to the best of his ability.
“I’m very happy that Modi won the election because he is making India care about free markets, he’s pro-business, anti-corruption, and wants a strong relationship with the United States,” Barve told News India Times in an exclusive interview. “I’m very much looking forward to being a conduit for strengthening those ties.” In contrast, the Congress Pary “never seemed to care” about strengthening the bilateral relationship, he contends. “As an American, I am glad the BJP is there no matter what critics say.”
Open seat
Early this year when influential District 8 Congressman Chris Van Hollen declared his bid for the U.S. Senate to replace veteran Democrat Barbara Mukulski, Barve saw his opportunity as one of the longest serving state legislators, to declare his candidacy. In mid-May Barve followed up with a high-powered campaign team made up of former Obama veterans and well-connected fundraisers. At this point in time, 2 other Democrats have announced their bid for the primaries, former Obama aide Will Jawando, 33, and three-term state Senator Jamie Raskin, 52. It’s going to be a close primary according to The Washington Post.
In public office since 1990, Barve is the first Indian-American ever elected to a state legislature in U.S. history. His years of legislative and political experience give him an edge over other Democratic candidates come the April 5 primaries in this heavily Democratic district. But getting through those is no easy task. Once over the primaries however, he considers himself a shoe-in for Capitol Hill.
Raising money for the race has become his full-time occupation now. For his media outreach, Barve has employed Adelstein/Liston (A/L Media) that was responsible for Barack Obama’s campaign and that of California Congressman Ami Bera. He’s relying on Anil Mammen of the Mammen Group for direct mailings of which “they do a superb job,” he says. For his fundraising he has Stephanie Mellinger of the Mellinger Group. “She has 20 years of experience in fundraising,” and her other Indian-American success stories include former New Jersey state Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula and former Iowa state Representative and state Senator Swati Dandekar. “She has a terrific list of donors from the Indian-American community which can be sometimes challenging,” Barve said. For a “good” campaign, Barve estimates he needs $1 million, but for a “great” campaign anywhere from $1.5 million to $2 million – to assure a win.
It’s all about money
In an exclusive interview with News India Times, Barve noted politics and campaigning was no longer what it was in 1990. No more handshaking and backyard barbeques to which this reporter accompanied him in 1990 on the campaign trail. Rather it’s about pumping money into television and online advertizing and outreach through direct mailings etc., and a fat rolodex of high-rollers. Congressional District 8 is 8 times the size of his state’s District 17 which has sent him repeatedly to Annapolis over the last 25 years.
“I’ve been talking about issues for 24 years so everybody knows what I stand for,” Barve contends, so the focus is on building the campaign war chest. Despite being the most experienced among those running for the Democratic primaries, “My ability to win today depends on my ability to raise money,” Barve bemoans. The only groups that hate him he says are anti-abortion and anti-gun control lobbies.
The known-to-be-frugal, proudly liberal but highly pro-business, and singularly outspoken Barve thinks he can swing it, and the Indian-American community appears solidly behind him. Unlike in the past, Barve believes the community is more willing to contribute now. But it takes him close to 8 calls per person, and that applies to Indian and non-Indian supporters, to get a couple thousand dollars donation. This is a huge investment of time for a legislator who has to be in Annapolis from January to April during the legislative session. Since 2002 until very recently, Barve was Majority Leader in the Maryland Assembly. He remains the chairman of his Montgomery County delegation. Plus, he holds down a full-time job as chief financial officer at an environmental company to make a living. But he has had to cut his working hours and predicts that come January “It’s going to be hellish,” to raise money and be a fulltime legislator in Annapolis.
All hands on deck
He is optimistic however, that his supporters, especially Indian-Americans around the country will come to his aide. He reels out several names of Democratic activists already campaigning and raising funds for him. “I have to convince the Indian community that we need more Indians in Congress,” he says.
Among his strongest supporters are 2nd generation Democratic Party activists such as attorney Subodh Chandra from Cleveland, Ohio who told News India Times it was pay-back time now. “He has always been responsive to the community’s needs and crises. For example, in the hours after 9/11, Kumar acted quickly to protect Gurdwaras in his community and educate local law enforcement, to prevent hate crimes,” Chandra recalled. “It would be a shame if every member of our community did not provide Kumar’s campaign with whatever financial support they can.”
Toby Chaudhuri, vice president at PBS, and in-charge of strategic communications on the White House Initiative on Education and Excellence for Hispanics, echoes Chandra. “I’m full-in for Kumar — Our communities have stood up on his shoulders,” he said.
Skewed priorities
Barve said he would run for Congress regardless of his heritage because he is increasingly concerned about “skewed” national politics which pays more attention to the inconsequential over the long-term sustained planning and investment required to create jobs and retrain the workforce for tomorrow’s world. He wants an economy in which immigrants are welcome and the middle class can earn a decent wage.
“I’m worried about the middle-class. America appears more interested in Benghazi and the Middle East than in encouraging R & D and creating jobs. The middle-class is afraid their children won’t even be able to pay off their student loans by the end of their lives,” he says. Job training is critical he contends. A welder who earns $40,000 to $50,000 could make double that with training, he notes. But unlike Germany, the U.S. does not invest in training. “In Maryland, we have 14,000 cyber-security jobs going begging because nobody is here to fill them. As a nation we need to start making decisions and prioritizing.” Pro-business and pro-trade, Barve says “People need to realize that as a nation we have a unique ability to train people for jobs of tomorrow.”
Indian ancestry
Barve’s Indian and Hindu ancestry are an integral part of his campaign. Whenever he speaks to audiences he highlights the plight of his maternal grandfather Shankar L. Gokhale, president of Holkar College in Indore, who came to this country in 1911, but faced tremendous discrimination; his mother Neera, 88, who was born in Schenectady, N.Y., his father Prabhakar Barve, who immigrated in 1957, he portrays as people who made his journey easier. His parents encouraged him since high school to take part in politics and he participated in many a campaign during his youth.
His legislative accomplishments in Maryland preclude efforts made nationally in healthcare and technology. He introduced and helped enact the Patient Access Act, the first bill to regulate HMOs, which permits patients to see doctors outside the network; he was one of the architects of the law that banned insurance companies from using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage; he created the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland, and helped enact legislation to protect intellectual property in IT. “Throughout his career, Kumar has advanced legislation that has often been copied by other states and led to national progress in public policy,” Chandra says.
In 2004, Barve married Maureen Quinn, an attorney who was appointed Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission judge by former Gov. Paris Glendening. The couple lives in Rockville, Maryland with their two dogs.
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