ALAPPUZHA: Three Malayalis — Martin John of Kanjirappally, Surendran K Pattel of Kasaragod and Juli A Mathew of Tiruvalla — have secured impressive wins in elections to key local government and judicial posts in the US, bringing pride to the state.
Martin has been elected to the Board of Directors of Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, while Surendran and Juli were reelected as the judges of the 240th Judicial District Court and County Court at Law, respectively. Surendran and Juli were Democratic candidates, while Martin fought on a non-partisan ticket.
Martin, hailing from Kalaketty, polled 1.22 lakh votes (57.68%). His opponent, Shaizad Sam Chatriwala, secured 89,616 votes (42.32%). Martin won by a margin of 32,515 votes.
A former chairman of Pala St Thomas College Union, he moved to the US with his family in 2000. He holds a PG in International Relations from MG University.
Surendran, a law graduate from the University of Calicut, also considerably increased his winning margin. He secured 1.59 lakh votes (59.89%), defeating Republican candidate Asha Reddy, who polled 1.06 lakh votes (40.11%). Surendran practised at Hosdurg Court and the Supreme Court before migrating to the US with his family in 2007.
Juli, from Vennikulam, retained her position as the judge of County Court at Law by securing 1.68 lakh votes (60.10%). She defeated Republican candidate Jessica Jaramillo, who secured 1.12 lakh votes (39.90%).
She moved to the US with her parents in 1986. She created history in 2018 by becoming the first judge of Asian descent to be elected to the Bench in Fort Bend County and the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the bench in the US.
