Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox Aspires To Be The First Indian-American And The First South Asian Woman In CT State Senate

Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox will be the first ever Indian American and the first ever South Asian woman state senator in the state of Connecticut, if she is elected in the general elections to be held on November 5th, 2024. “That’s really important, especially with this moment of Kamala Harris running for president.”

Sujata Gadkar Wilcox 2 (1)Gadkar-Wilcox, an Indian American won in the Democratic Party Primaries for the 22nd District Connecticut State Senate seat, in a four-way primary held on August 13th, 2024. She is pitted against Republican Chris Carrena of Trumbull for the senate seat on the general election ballot in November. CT 22nd District consists of the town of Trumbull as well as parts of Bridgeport and Monroe. It has been represented by Democrat Marilyn Moore since 2015, who is retiring at the end of her current term.

Gadkar-Wilcox proudly states that she is a product of the American dream. “My father came to this country in 1969 and ended up designing parts for the space shuttle. I was born in New York City on the fourth of July to immigrant parents and worked hard to become a Fulbright Scholar and professor of constitutional and human rights law. As an engaged member of non-profit organizations in the community, I know how to work with others, and will work hard to provide the focused, measured, thoughtful leadership that our state needs.”

Referring to her roots to the Indian subcontinent, Gadkar-Wilcox says “Both of my parents were born in India, and I was inspired as a young adult by my grandfather’s stories of his presence at Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ speech, his involvement in pro-Congress Party student protests, and his admiration for B.R. Ambedkar, both as a Maharashtrian and as an advocate for Dalit ‘untouchables.’ These led me to be intrigued by the issues of constitutional change at the time of India’s independence.”

An associate professor at Quinnipiac University, where she teaches Constitutional law and human rights, Gadkar-Wilcox spoke passionately about how she plans to represent the entire population in the Trumbull region that is fast growing and diverse.

“I’m very honored because it was a community effort,” Gadkar-Wilcox of Trumbull, a Quinnipiac UniversitySujata Gadkar Wilcox 3 professor says. “We put a lot of hard work in, grassroots politics and engagement at the doors with other community members in Trumbull and Monroe coming out. I’m honored to represent us all.” Gadkar-Wilcox hopes her message will continue to resonate with voters. “We need to trust the people that we send up to Hartford, and that I will advocate for the things that I said I’ll advocate for,” she said.

Gadkar-Wilcox says, she believes that each municipality agrees on the same key issues: economic development by way of lowering property taxes, investing in education and overall maintaining good government practices. “I love the diversity of this district because you have to understand both the urban and suburban context,” she says. “You also have to be able to advocate and think about where we have common interests.”

As the CT state Senator, her focus is going to be on making sure that her district gets its fair share of state education funding, and improving Connecticut’s economic competitiveness through incentivizing Connecticut’s students to stay in the state to work on critical industries.

“When Bridgeport succeeds, Trumbull succeeds. When Bridgeport succeeds, Monroe succeeds,” says Gadkar-Wilcox. “As your State Senator, I will propose forming a new regional legislative caucus with legislators from Greater Bridgeport, including Bridgeport, Stratford, Shelton, Trumbull, Monroe, Easton, and Fairfield. This caucus would meet to discuss formulating policy, competing for state and federal grants, and eliminating the urban/suburban divide. On issue after issue, we are in this together. When we work together, we will succeed.”

Gadkar-Wilcox was awarded the prestigious William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which enabled her to travel to India during the 2015-2016 academic year to continue her research on the framework of the Indian Constitution.

“My interest in understanding the pluralism informing the drafting of the Indian Constitution relates to my own experience of being raised in the United States by immigrant parents who instilled in us an appreciation and understanding of our own Indian cultural heritage. The process of operating in overlapping cultural spaces has always enabled me to approach issues from a different vantage point, which is what I see in the drafting of the Indian Constitution as well.”

Gadkar-Wilcox says, she believes in a government that prioritizes people, not special interests or personal benefit. “I believe in a system that preserves the fundamental values of our democracy by making sure that government is accountable and transparent. I believe absentee ballot abuse must be rejected, and that the people must have faith in our electoral processes.”

According to Gadkar-Wilcox, she is running for office out of concern for the “contentious and divided” political environment. “The time is now to take responsibility for getting our state back on the right path. We have an obligation to ensure that our children enjoy quality public education, preparing them to be innovators and problem solvers. We must find sustainable solutions to manage our budget while not imposing an undue burden on our residents. We must responsibly invest in upgrading our infrastructure, which is the economic lifeline to our state.”

Gadkar-Wilcox believes in “a government that invests in our future through public education, modernization of infrastructure, the fixing of gaping potholes, and the improvement of our quality of life.  Together, we can tackle the fundamental structural issues our state faces and create a politics for the public good. I look forward to meeting you at your doorstep, and let’s take that vision to Hartford.”

 Confident and determined, Gadkar-Wilcox says, “I hope to earn your support so that I may carry your voice to Hartford, working to ensure that you are not only able to thrive, but that Connecticut remains the place you are proud to call home. Together, we can tackle the fundamental structural issues our state faces and create a politics for the public good. I look forward to meeting you at your doorstep, and let’s take that vision to Hartford. It will be an honor to serve you.”

Gadkar-Wilcox says, her platform is based on creating a new kind of politics. “For too long we have allowed our representatives in Hartford to finger-point and leave messes for others to clean up. The time is now to take responsibility for getting our state back on the right path.”

Prof. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox Appointed To The Connecticut Commission On Human Rights And Opportunities

Prof. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, associate professor of legal studies and chair of justice and law at the Quinipiac University has been appointed by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont as a Commissioner and Member of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).

Prof. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox is Chair of the Department of Justice and Law, and Associate Professor of Legal Studies at Quinnipiac University. She is also Executive Director of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights and a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar.

Gadkar-Wilcox expressed interest in the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) years ago and was notified when a seat became available. She intends to use her experience in this position as a professor to benefit her students.

“I teach my students to think about the way in which what we learn in the classroom can be utilized outside of the classroom,” said Gadkar-Wilcox. “I believe my position at the CHRO will provide me with new opportunities to learn how nondiscrimination laws in employment, housing and public accommodation are enforced in practice. I look forward to taking this knowledge back to my students and connecting it back to my own research in human rights and constitutional law.”

The goal of the commission is to eliminate discrimination through civil and human rights law enforcement and to establish equal opportunity and justice for all persons within the state, through advocacy and education. Gadkar-Wilcox’s new role entails overseeing the work of the regional staff offices, which receive and resolve cases from individuals who believe they have suffered illegal discrimination. She will also attend monthly meetings and work on compliance, enforcement and monitoring.

Her time in the legal studies field began as a litigation associate at a major law firm in New York in 2005 after graduating from law school. Gadkar-Wilcox subsequently became the director of a non-profit legal education organization to pursue her commitment to public interest law and then she came to Quinnipiac in 2011. She has served as the executive director of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights for many years, too.

Programs at Quinnipiac, such as the global engagement fellows program, enable students to take the principles they learn in the classroom and build collaborative partnerships with community organizations, as well as show students how the law can serve as a tool for social justice. Gadkar-Wilcox supports and vouches for this program, as it is her deep passion to connect students with local communities.

Now, as she kickstarts her time at the CHRO, she will be able to make a difference both on an academic and state level, using her decades of research and work as support, she said. “As a South Asian woman, it is important to represent a different perspective on the CHRO and in public life that does not always get the same amount of visibility,” said Gadkar-Wilcox. “It is an honor and a privilege to apply my own academic training in a public capacity and to represent Quinnipiac and the South Asian community in this role.”

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