It has been my honor to represent the people of California's 17th district. I have worked across the aisle to build an economy that works for all Americans. I have done so while remaining an active voice on local issues.

I have passed laws making it easier for veterans to get apprenticeships and modernizing federal websites. To make sure our children have the skills to compete in a global economy, I co-sponsored legislation to make public universities and community colleges debt free. I have also brought new jobs and internships for our residents.

I have fought for equal pay for women, Medicare for All, reducing our foreign military entanglements, and comprehensive immigration reform. I have introduced legislation to double the earned income tax credit for working families and passed a resolution to end the Yemen war.

Locally, I have hosted monthly town halls in the district. To combat air noise from local airports, I established a roundtable with local leaders and FAA officials committed to finding a solution. To reduce traffic congestion, I have advocated for federal funding for the expansion of BART into San Jose and Santa Clara. Finally, to reduce the rising levels of anxiety among our students, I partnered with local school districts to raise awareness for youth mental health.

I have never taken campaign contributions from PACs, lobbyists or corporations. To learn more, please visit www.rokhanna.com

After two decades in Silicon Valley, Indian American engineer and businessman Ritesh Tandon is running for Congress in the South Bay.  He has built a successful career in technology at the same time that he has been a leader in helping others through his work with nonprofits.

Tandon says, "Over two decades ago, I immigrated to this country as a student searching for the American Dream. I found it here in the heart of our Bay Area, while studying for my MS and MBA at Santa Clara University. I believe this community is the greatest in our nation and it angers me to see the Washington D.C. elite ignore our values of strong family devotion and hard work. It will be my top priority to represent you, not entrenched party bosses."

“As a former President of a non-profit, I see how many Bay Area families are struggling to make ends meet. As a father, I know the $23-trillion national debt is stealing our children’s future. As an independent small businessman, I understand the crushing burden of job-killing regulations.”

Professionally, Ritesh Tandon worked on unified communications products for Cisco, first in engineering, then technical marketing.  Then he managed strategic alliances for Jabra, which makes wireless headphones.  He and his wife founded their own startup, which will develop and market hardware devices.

At the same time Ritesh served as an executive committee member of the Sankara Eye Foundation, which has established nine hospitals in India to eradicate curable blindness.  He raised millions of dollars for the hospitals and helped select the site for one of them.  He also served as a volunteer and then president for five years of UPMA, an organization which supports education and childcare of poor kids in India.

Ritesh Tandon is running in District 17, which includes Newark, Fremont, Milpitas, North San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Cupertino (see the map).  He is challenging incumbent Ro Khanna, who is serving as a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders' campaign.

The grandson of a freedom fighter for Indian independence, Ritesh Tandon grew up in northern India and earned a B.S. degree in engineering at L. D. College of Engineering, where he also captained the cricket team.  After coming to the United States, he earned an M.S. in computer engineering and an MBA at Santa Clara University, where he also met and married Zurica Dhar, a fellow computer engineer.  They have two children and live in San Jose.

You can find out more about Ritesh on his campaign website, tandonforcongress.com.

Over two decades ago, I immigrated to this country as a student searching for the American Dream. I found it here in the heart of our Bay Area. I believe this community is the greatest in our nation and it angers me to see the Washington D.C. elite ignore our values of strong family devotion and hard work. It will be my top priority to represent you, not entrenched party bosses.

As a former President of a non-profit, I see how many Bay Area families are struggling to make ends meet. As a father, I know the $23-trillion national debt is stealing our children’s future. As an independent small businessman, I understand the crushing burden of job-killing regulations.

You can count on me to champion smart and efficient health care that will alleviate the financial strain on working class families. I also support immigration policies that protect us, while expediting the process for law-abiding residents that contribute to our economy. We must also have real education reform that gives our students more choices in school and in the workforce.

I am running for Congress because I am grateful for all this community has given me and I want to serve you. Let’s work together, reject partisan politics and find common sense solutions to ease the burden on all Bay Area families.

I’m thankful for the love and support of my wife of 19 years, Zurica.  I would appreciate your vote.