Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 5 SPECIAL REPORT November 14, 2025 Edison Mayor Sam Joshi Wins Second Term In Decisive Race E dison Mayor Sam Joshi appeared headed for a second termTuesday, holding a commanding lead over independent challenger Dave Tingle in unofficial results. Joshi, 36, a Democrat completing his first four-year term, led Tingle, a township police lieutenant, 20,142 to 7,952, with all districts reporting, according to unofficial totals. Since taking office in 2022, Joshi has held more than 400 plus community meetings. He ran with a new slate of Democratic Township Council candidates — Kelli Dima, Robert Kentos and Biral Patel —who also ap- peared poised to win. Kentos led the council race with 19,263 votes, fol- lowed by Patel with 18,366 and Dima with 17,708, ac- cording to unofficial report of Middlesex County. Tingle, making his first run for mayor, led a fusion ticket with Elizabeth Conway, a Democrat, and Repub- licans Gloria Dittman Samiksha Sharmas. Preliminary results showed Sharmas with 7,820 votes, Dittman with 7,727 and Conway with 4,655. The Democratic surge extended beyond Edison. Mikie Sherrill, a Democratic congresswoman from Montclair, was elected governor of New Jersey, defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a closely watched race. In another notable race, Ravi Bhalla, the former mayor of Hoboken, was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, further contributing to what analysts described as a Democratic sweep across the state. Edison, one of Middlesex County’s largest and most Democratic-leaning municipalities, appeared to stay true to formTuesday as Joshi and his running mates built large margins across the township. Edison Mayor Sam Joshi Mikie Sherrill First Indian American, First Muslim Woman, Ghazala Hashmi, Wins Lt. Governor’s Race In Virginia G hazala Hashmi, the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, won the race with a comfortable margin as she made history in the nation, November 4, 2025. Hashmi becomes the first Indian American to hold the position in Vir- ginia, and the second Indian American to become Lt. Governor of a state after Aruna Miller of Maryland. Hashmi broke the glass ceiling by be- coming the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the country’s history. A progressive Democrat, Hashmi defeated Republican John Reid, secur- ing 55 percent of the vote to Reid’s 44 percent, to step into a largely symbolic role, but also one that gives her the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the State Senate. The salary for the post is a mere $36,000 which according to observers, makes the Lt. Governor’s position more like a stepping stone for making a run for higher office like that of Governor, or even run for the US Congress. The result for the gubernatorial race has also been decided and Virginians chose a Democrat, Abigail Spanberger to replace the outgoing Republican gover- nor Glen Youngkin. Hashmi’s legislative priorities as spelt out on her campaign website, include public education, voting rights and the preservation of democracy, reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, the environment, housing and affordable healthcare access. The Indian American Impact Fund, a leading political action committee, which said it had invested $175,000 in Hashmi’s campaign to mobilize voters, congratu- lated her on her victory. “Ghazala Hashmi’s victory is a land- mark moment for our community, our Commonwealth, and our democracy,” said Chintan Patel, executive director of Impact Fund. “An immigrant, educator, and tireless advocate, she has dedicated her life to expanding opportunity and delivering results for working families across Virginia,” he added. Hashmi made history before when she flipped the Republican-held seat in the Virginia State Senate in 2019. Hyderabad-born Hashmi came to the US from India as a four-year old with her mother and older brother, to join her father in Georgia just as he was completing his PhD in international relations and beginning his university teaching career. Ghazala grew up in the small college town, at a time when public schools were being desegregated, she notes in her profile on the campaign website ghazalaforvirginia.com . After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and receiving mul- tiple full scholarships and fellowships, Hashmi earned a BA with honors from Georgia Southern University and her PhD in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta. Ghazala and her husband, Azhar Rafiq, moved as newlyweds to the Rich- mond area in 1991, and she spent nearly 30 years as a professor, first teaching at the University of Richmond and then at Reynolds Community College. While at Reynolds, she also served as the Found- ing Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). The couple has two adult daughters who both graduated from Chesterfield County Public Schools and the University of Virginia. By Ela Dutt PHOTO:FACEBOOK @SENATORGHAZALAHASHMI PHOTO:COURTESY SAM JOSHI PHOTO:MIKIE SHERRILL OFFICIAL Ghazala Hashmi, the new Lt. Governor of Virginia, the first Muslim to win statewide office and the first Indian American to hold the position in Virginia. By a StaffWriter