Ravi Sangisetty
Ravi Sangisetty (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Louisiana House of Representatives to represent District 98. Sangisetty lost in the primary on October 12, 2019.
Sangisetty completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Sangisetty received a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 2003 and a J.D. from Louisiana State University in 2006. His professional experience includes being a trial attorney with his own practice and clerking for federal judge Stanwood Duval. Sangisetty has been associated with the Louisiana Association for Justice, the New Orleans Audubon Commission, and the Management Committee advising on the redevelopment of Charity Hospital in New Orleans.[1]
Elections
2019
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98
Aimee Adatto Freeman defeated Kea Sherman in the general election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98 on November 16, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Aimee Adatto Freeman (D) | 57.8 | 9,091 |
 | Kea Sherman (D)  | 42.2 | 6,638 | |
| Total votes: 15,729 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98
The following candidates ran in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 98 on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Aimee Adatto Freeman (D) | 32.1 | 3,967 |
| ✔ | | Kea Sherman (D) | 18.9 | 2,330 |
 | Ravi Sangisetty (D) | 18.6 | 2,290 | |
| Carlos Zervigon (D) | 17.0 | 2,095 | ||
 | Evan Bergeron (D) | 6.8 | 845 | |
 | Marion Freistadt (D) | 4.5 | 554 | |
 | Max Hayden Chiz (D) | 2.1 | 264 | |
| Total votes: 12,345 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ravi Sangisetty completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sangisetty's responses.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I'm passionate about economic and social justice, which can be seen throughout my campaign. Many of the inequalities that my district faces start before birth, so I feel strongly that we need to create policy that addresses this head-on. I'd like to create policy that would ensure equal access to healthcare for all pregnant women, access to affordable daycare programs, and access to a quality education, no matter where you live in our city. Furthermore, as a civil rights attorney, my job is to stand up for people who have faced discrimination because of who they are. I believe in the importance of protecting our most vulnerable, and making sure that they have a voice and a place where they feel like they belong. That means holding employers accountable for wrongful terminations based on things like race, religion, sex, age, disability, and citizenship status. It also means thinking seriously about institutional changes that can be made at the state level to better protect LGBTQ+ folks under the law. Neither sexual orientation or gender identity are protected under our current law, and that should change. And it is beyond time to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to give women the same rights as men under the US Constitution.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
I spent a lot of my early life avoiding politics. My dad always told me that I just needed to keep my head down, work hard, and provide for my family. But when I clerked for Federal Judge Stanwood Duval he told me that I couldn't just sit on the sidelines. He is the one who inspired me to become politically aware and politically involved, and I will always be grateful to him for that.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
It's important that our leaders are honest, ethical, and effective. I have progressive values, and I plan to demonstrate them in Baton Rouge, but I also believe that bipartisanship and understanding are necessary to successfully achieve legislative goals.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
My values are based on honesty, empathy, and justice. I live my progressive values every day through my law practice, and I want to bring these concepts of social and economic justice to our state legislature. I also have relationships with current officeholders in Baton Rouge. I've spent a lot of my time over the past few years working behind the scenes to help get legislation passed. I have strong negotiation skills, and that's something that's crucial for a Democratic politician in Louisiana to get the job done.
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
Wake Up Everybody - John Legend
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
I believe that building relationships with other legislators is not just beneficial, but crucial for effective representation. Having grown up in Southeast Louisiana, I already have relationships with several current legislators, and I look forward to building on that when I go to Baton Rouge. Louisiana has a number of issues right now, including criminal justice reform and education, where bipartisan support is strong, and I look forward to working with legislators across the aisle to get legislation passed on these issues.
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
I'd like to be on the Ways and Means, Civil Law, and House and Governmental Affairs committees. Those are the committees that give strong input on infrastructure bills, social justice legislation, and redistricting. These are the issues that I have some experience with, and they are important to the people in my district.
Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
I admire former Senator Ed Murray for his hard work and ability to understand his colleague's perspectives. I think these are important traits to utilize in order to effectively accomplish legislative goals, and I would emulate this in the legislature.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection form on September 30, 2019
