Ash Kalra (D)  grew up in San Jose, the third largest city in California. In 2008 after spending over 10 years at San Jose’s Public Attorney’s office, Kalra decided to run for city elections. He was elected in 2008, the same year Barack Obama won the Presidential elections on his platform of “Yes, We Can Do It.” Kalra became the first Indian-American in San Jose’s City Council representing District 2.  Now, he is preparing for his next political move. He announced his intention to run for the State Assembly Elections for 2016.

We have a 2-part interview with Kalra. In Part-1 of our interview we spoke to him about why he chose to run for elections, the role of Indian-Americans in American politics and growing up in San Jose. California was the first state to elect an Indian-American to the Congress. Congressman Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the American Congress in the 1950s.