The Indian Professionals Network (IPN) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) presented the Georgia 4th Congressional District Candidates Forum on June 25th. The following candidates attended: Catherine Davis, Liane Levetan, Connie Stokes, Nadine Thomas, Chris Vaughan, and Cathy Woolard. The moderator was Joshua Levs from NPR Radio.

The event reflects the growing partnership between the Atlanta Indian and Jewish communities in Atlanta. AJC and IPN will continue to lead the effort to strengthen intergroup relations and mutual understanding.

Karthik Nagarur, an Indian American student from the University of California at Davis, who volunteers for the Georgia Indian American Political Action Committee (GIAPAC), felt that “this event was an eye opener to what the Indian Community has accomplished in the past couple of years and the potential for the future.” A 24 year old Jewish American, Jonathan Tescher, who is President of Abright21st, LLC and member of the Atlanta Youth Council stated that “it was great to see the Indian and Jewish American communities working together and using their influence in the community in service of our country and young people. However, I was disappointed to see that there were no clear solutions mentioned by the Congressional candidates, when the country needs it most right now.” 

Several of the Congressional candidates openly mentioned that this forum had the largest turnout out of any they had attended. The forum was intended to give the communities direct access to candidates and learn about their views and plans for issues important to the communities. Questions were asked by the moderator and also audience members that included the following issues: aid to India and Israel, immigration, transportation, health care, jobs and the economy.

At the beginning of the forum, GIAPAC along with the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) provided the audience with summaries of candidate responses to a questionnaire regarding Indian American priority issues. 

IPN is an informal networking group that meets once a month on the second Thursday of the month and host speakers in various disciplines of interest to the community. For more information, contact: narsi@paalam.com. 
GIAPAC is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting political awareness and activism in the Indian American community of Atlanta and Georgia. For more information: www.giapac-mobile.org. 
IACPA is a national organization with a mission to increase political awareness in the Indian American community and encourage participation by the Indian American community in the American democracy. For more information: www.iacfpa.org.