Juli A. Mathew, K.P. George, and Surendran K. Pattel were sworn in as Fort Bend County judges in the United States. They were among other newly elected and re-elected officials.
According to news agency PTI, Juli A. Mathew, the first Indian-American woman to be elected to a judge’s bench in the US four years ago, was re-elected for a second term after defeating her Republican challenger Andrew Dornburg.
“Mathew, a native of Thiruvalla in Kerala, was sworn in via videoconferencing and will continue to serve as presiding judge for a period of four years,” the report said.
She was voted the Administrative Judge for the County Courts by her peers and also heads the first Juvenile Intervention and Mental Health Court.
George, the first Indian-American to hold an office in Fort Bend County, won a second term as the county’s judge in a narrow race in the November elections. He hails from Kerala’s Kakkodu city.
George, a 57-year-old Democrat, whose win in 2018 made him a trailblazer in the Houston area and beyond, said he hopes it stays that way now that he’s been granted another four years as the chief executive for one of the most diverse and fastest-growing counties in the country.
The county also welcomed District Court Judge Pattel, who edged Republican Edward M. Krenek in the race for the 240th Judicial District in November.
The 52-year-old, a native of Kerala, with an experience of over 25 years has been a Texas attorney since 2009, prior to which he was a lawyer in India, where he earned his law Degree in 1995 from the University of Calicut.
According to his website, in 2015, Pattel was elected as the president of the Malayalee Association of Greater Houston, a 2,500-member nonprofit organisation that serves more than 12,000 Indian families, PTI reported.
******************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com