Upendra J. Chivukula

Upendra Chivukula (born October 8, 1950) is an Indian-American Democratic politician currently serving on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, who previously represented New Jersey's 17th legislative district in the General Assembly from 2002 to 2014. He was the first Indian American elected to the New Jersey legislature and the fourth Indian American elected to state office anywhere in the United States.^[1] During his time in office, he was regarded as a progressive.^[2]

Appointed byChris Christie

Preceded byJeanne Fox

Preceded byJerry Green
Bob Smith

Succeeded byJoseph Danielsen

Quick facts Member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Appointed by ...

Upendra Chivukula


Member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Incumbent
Assumed office September 30, 2014
Appointed by	Chris Christie
Preceded by	Jeanne Fox
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 17th district
In office January 8, 2002 – September 30, 2014
Preceded by	Jerry Green Bob Smith
Succeeded by	Joseph Danielsen
Mayor of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
In office January 1, 2000 – December 31, 2000
Deputy Mayor of Franklin Township
In office January 1, 1998 – December 31, 1998
Member of the Franklin Township Council from the 5th Ward
In office January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2005
Preceded by	Jack Shreve
Succeeded by	James Vassanella

Personal details
Born	(1950-10-08) October 8, 1950 (age 75) Nellore, Madras State (now in Andhra Pradesh), India
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Lucrecia Dayci
Alma mater	B.E.E. Guindy Engineering College (Electrical Engineering) M.E.E. City College of New York (Electrical Engineering)
Occupation	Engineer

Close

After immigrating to the United States from India, Chivukula served on the Franklin Township council from 1998 to 2005. In 2000, he served as mayor of Franklin. In 2001, he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 17th district. He was re-elected to six subsequent terms, rising to the position of deputy speaker from 2007 until his resignation in 2014.

Chivukula has run twice for the United States House of Representatives. In 2012, he was the Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 7th district but was defeated by incumbent Leonard Lance. In 2014, he ran instead for the open seat in New Jersey's 12th district which had been vacated by Rush Holt Jr. He finished third in the Democratic primary.^[3] After his defeat, he was appointed to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities by Chris Christie and was sworn in on September 30, 2014.^[4]

Early life

Upendra Chivukula was born on October 8, 1950 in Nellore, India.^[5]

In 1972, Chivukula received a bachelor of electrical engineering degree from College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai (now part of Anna University). He received a master of engineering degree from City College of New York in 1976.^[6]

Political career

Before running for public office, Chivukula was appointed by Governor of New Jersey James Florio to the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners. He served on that body as a public member from 1994 to 1997.^{[citation needed]}

Franklin Township

In 1997, Chivukula was elected to represent the Fifth Ward on the Franklin Township Council. He was re-elected to a second term in 2001.

In 1998, he served as deputy mayor of the township. He served as mayor in 2000.^[6]

In Franklin Township, he has also served on the Franklin Township Community Foundation, Finance Oversight Committee, Traffic Management Committee, Fire Prevention Board, Emergency Life Support Delivery, Integrated Communications Committee, Emergency Management, Franklin Township Planning Board, Economic Development Committee, Community / Senior Center Steering Committee and the Bicentennial Celebration Committee. Chivukula has served on the Somerset County Affordable Housing Board of Trustees and the Middlesex County Cultural and Historic Commission.

New Jersey General Assembly

In 2001, Chivukula was elected to a two-year term in the New Jersey General Assembly. He was re-elected in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013.

Chivukula served as the New Jersey General Assembly's deputy speaker from 2007 to 2014. Chivukula was noted for being a progressive legislator and, in coordination with Congressman Rush D. Holt Jr., pushed through reforms to invest in clean energy, infrastructure projects, and high-tech manufacturing jobs.^[2]

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2012 and was an alternate delegate in 2004.^[7]^[8]

Chivukula was one of New Jersey's presidential electors casting the state's Electoral College votes after the 2004 presidential election; New Jersey's electors cast their ballots on December 13, 2004, in the State House Annex in Trenton, where all 15 votes were cast for Democratic Party candidate John Kerry.^[9]

2012 and 2014 congressional campaigns

In 2012, Chivukula ran for United States House of Representatives against Republican incumbent Leonard Lance in New Jersey's 7th congressional district. He was defeated in the heavily Republican district by a vote of 175,662 to 123,057.^[10]

In 2014, Chivukula ran for the House again, standing for the open seat created by Rush Holt Jr.'s retirement. He finished second behind assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and state senator Linda R. Greenstein.^{[citation needed]}

Board of Public Utilities

On September 18, 2014, Chivukula was nominated by Governor Chris Christie to a seat on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, to replace retiring commissioner Jeanne Fox.^[4] The New Jersey Senate voted 35–1 to confirm Chivukula to a six-year term on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on September 22, and he was sworn in on September 30.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, Chivukula co-authored "The 3rd Way" with Veny Musum. The authors advocate for closing the broadening gap between the rich and the poor in America and worldwide through inclusive capitalism or economic democracy, via business initiatives such as increasing employee equity stakes and employee profit sharing.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]