Dr Imran (Angelo) Farooq Is Running for the California State Senate
By Ras H. Siddiqui

Elections in California next year are bound to produce some excitement. Out of the 40 California State Senators, there are currently 32 Democrats and 8 Republicans. That may or may not change by the time the 2024 elections results come in, but in California’s 31 st senatorial district, incumbent Senator Richard Roth will no longer be running due to term limits. On the other hand, one highly qualified person who is running in this heavily democratic district (Riverside & adjacent areas) is Dr Imran (Angelo) Farooq.

Dr Imran (Angelo) Farooq is a native Californian, the son of a father from Karachi and mother from Punjab (Kasur area). And his wife, Vessy Farooq, is a Bulgarian immigrant to this country. The couple also have a daughter named Maya. Dr Farooq, an American of Pakistani heritage is a proud Punjabi too. He is no stranger to diversity as his family is a true reflection of it. In 2024, he aspires to be the first South Asian to become a California State Senator. 

There are several reasons why he qualifies for our support. Dr Farooq was born and raised in the inland empire area which encompasses District 31. He has an impressive educational background with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California Berkeley, plus Executive master’s and Doctorate of Policy, Planning and Development degrees from the University of Southern California (USC). He also has administrative experience as Director of Economic Development at the University of California Riverside (UCR) and has also previously taught entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Business there.

Dr Farooq has also been involved in public service for a number of years in California. He has been elected twice (spanning nine years total through 2024) to the Board of Education for Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), He is also a delegate to the California School Board Association where he served on their inaugural Climate Change Task force. He is a strong advocate for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) educational opportunities for all students.  

Dr Farooq has a formidable list of individuals and organizations supporting his candidacy. They are too numerous to name in just one article here, but he does have the endorsements ( https://angelofarooq.com/endorsements/ ) of California’s Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Controller Malia Cohen, and Attorney General Rob Bonta. Amongst the many organizations endorsing him are the California School Employees Association, California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Laborers International Union of North America Local 1184 and South Asians for America. Several prominent individuals from the Indian American, Latino, Muslim and Pakistani community are also listed as his supporters. 

And last, but not least at the state level, Dr Farooq was appointed by Governor Newsom as the Chair of the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB). CWDB governs all federal workforce funds and develops a common policy framework for an overall $6 billion annual system that includes over 200 America Job Centers. This leadership represents significant responsibility at the state government level in California. His rich and diverse experiences should assist him greatly in his future role as a State Senator.

But to get there from here, Dr Farooq will require a lot of effort and the full support of our diverse community for his candidacy. Running for a major office in California requires a variety of resources, especially monetary. Readers are encouraged to visit Dr Angelo Farooq’s website ( https://angelofarooq.com/ ) to find out more about him and to assist him on the path of becoming a California State Senator. Please locate and use the “Donate” button on the top right of his site. He is certainly a strong candidate, qualified for the office, and will do a great job representing California’s 31 st Senate District.