Attorney Vivek Bavda is focusing his campaign for Congress in Illinois' 10th Congressional District on three issues: creating more jobs and improving the economy, reforming education, and working to ensure that "too-big-to-fail banks are too big to exist," he told India-West this week.
Bavda is one of five challengers seeking the Democratic Party's nomination in the March 20 primary. In the general election, the winner will likely face incumbent Congressman Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth, in a revamped district including sections of Lake County and Cook County in northeastern Illinois.
Bavda, 34, of Mundelein, Ill, runs his own law firm. His cases include labor, real estate, business and estate law, but not criminal cases.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Bavda and his family moved to what is now the 10th district in 1982. He attended elementary school in Glenview, Ill., and high school in Mundelein.
While pursuing a B.A. in political science and economics at Northwestern University, he was recruited by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. At the bank, he helped implement the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to prevent bias by banks against middle-class loan applicants, he said on his Web site.
Bavda's work and volunteer experience is diverse. He taught language arts and math to fifth graders under the Teach For America program in Compton, Calif. and worked at a public finance consulting firm in Oakland, Calif.
His other experience includes public affairs duty at the Coro Foundation in St. Louis, Mo., where he helped reunite broken families. Bavda also helped start the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which opposed a ban on stem-cell research in Missouri.
In addition, the Indian American candidate worked on arbitration and workman's compensation cases for the National Letter Carriers Union.
Bavda has a master's in public affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received his law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
The attorney's political experience includes volunteering at the 1996 Democratic National Convention, working in Sen. Dick Durbin's Senate reelection campaign and Vice President Al Gore's presidential bid in 2000. He has also worked with the Indo-American Democratic Organization and served as an intern for Senator Barack Obama in Chicago.
"My parents came in the 1970s from India to seek a better life," Bavda told India-West. But now, he added, Americans' "beliefs are being shaken by the people in government. We have to move forward, not backward."
The candidate favors incentives for learning to "create "well-trained, well-funded accountable teachers." He also proposes an annual tax-credit of up to $10,000 to help parents pay for their children's college education.
"Education reform took one step forward with No Child Left Behind," he said on his Web site. "As a former teacher, I understand the needs and challenges of our teachers. In order to improve classroom performance, we need to fund our teachers and improve NCLB. We also need to invest in community colleges to get our students to the next level of skill, resulting in better jobs."
Bavda said that since he entered the race Sept. 4, he has raised about $50,000. Another fundraiser is scheduled in January at a local bank.
Other candidates who have joined the Democratic primary include Waukegan community organizer Ilya Sheyman, Deerfield management consultant Brad Schneider, and businessman and U.S. Air Force Reserve Colonel John Tree.
Bavda is one of five challengers seeking the Democratic Party's nomination in the March 20 primary. In the general election, the winner will likely face incumbent Congressman Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth, in a revamped district including sections of Lake County and Cook County in northeastern Illinois.
Bavda, 34, of Mundelein, Ill, runs his own law firm. His cases include labor, real estate, business and estate law, but not criminal cases.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Bavda and his family moved to what is now the 10th district in 1982. He attended elementary school in Glenview, Ill., and high school in Mundelein.
While pursuing a B.A. in political science and economics at Northwestern University, he was recruited by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. At the bank, he helped implement the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to prevent bias by banks against middle-class loan applicants, he said on his Web site.
Bavda's work and volunteer experience is diverse. He taught language arts and math to fifth graders under the Teach For America program in Compton, Calif. and worked at a public finance consulting firm in Oakland, Calif.
His other experience includes public affairs duty at the Coro Foundation in St. Louis, Mo., where he helped reunite broken families. Bavda also helped start the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which opposed a ban on stem-cell research in Missouri.
In addition, the Indian American candidate worked on arbitration and workman's compensation cases for the National Letter Carriers Union.
Bavda has a master's in public affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received his law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
The attorney's political experience includes volunteering at the 1996 Democratic National Convention, working in Sen. Dick Durbin's Senate reelection campaign and Vice President Al Gore's presidential bid in 2000. He has also worked with the Indo-American Democratic Organization and served as an intern for Senator Barack Obama in Chicago.
"My parents came in the 1970s from India to seek a better life," Bavda told India-West. But now, he added, Americans' "beliefs are being shaken by the people in government. We have to move forward, not backward."
The candidate favors incentives for learning to "create "well-trained, well-funded accountable teachers." He also proposes an annual tax-credit of up to $10,000 to help parents pay for their children's college education.
"Education reform took one step forward with No Child Left Behind," he said on his Web site. "As a former teacher, I understand the needs and challenges of our teachers. In order to improve classroom performance, we need to fund our teachers and improve NCLB. We also need to invest in community colleges to get our students to the next level of skill, resulting in better jobs."
Bavda said that since he entered the race Sept. 4, he has raised about $50,000. Another fundraiser is scheduled in January at a local bank.
Other candidates who have joined the Democratic primary include Waukegan community organizer Ilya Sheyman, Deerfield management consultant Brad Schneider, and businessman and U.S. Air Force Reserve Colonel John Tree.