Upendra Chivukula
Upendra Chivukula was a member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. He assumed office in 2014. He left office on August 7, 2022.
Chivukula (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. He lost in the primary on June 3, 2014.
Chivukula is a former Democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 17 from 2001 to September 30, 2014. He resigned following his nomination to the state Board of Public Utilities.[1]
Biography
Chivukula earned his B.E.E. in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy (Anna University) in Chennai, India and his M.E.E. in electrical engineering from City College of New York in 1976. His professional experience includes working as a consultant for Web Team Corp, as chair for Rangam Consultants, Incorporated, as a director for Siratech International from 2001 to 2004, as a director for Compucom Global Solutions from 1999 to 2001, and as a senior product planner in Microelectronics for American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), Incorporated in 1988.[2]
In 1993, Chivukula began serving as county committeeman for Franklin Township. He went on to serve on the Franklin town council for seven years and as mayor for one year.[3]
He began serving in the New Jersey State Assembly in 2002 and remained in the assembly until stepping down in 2014. During his tenure, he served as a Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.[3][2][4]
Chivukula was a 2014 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey. He was defeated by Bonnie Watson Coleman in the Democratic primary on June 3, 2014.[5]
Political career
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (2014-2023)
Chivukula has served on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities since September 2014.[3]
New Jersey General Assembly (2002-2014)
Chivukula is a former Democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 17 from 2002 to September 30, 2014.[4]
Sponsored legislation
Below are some of the major pieces of legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Chivukula:
- A133 Revises laws concerning hate crimes and bullying; establishes Commission on Bullying in Schools.
- A845 Decreases corporation business tax minimum tax rates for new businesses and exempts certain small new businesses from payment of minimum tax.
- A1095 Decreases certain public document copy fees to up to $0.10 or less per letter size page and up to $0.15 or less per legal size page.
- A1626 Requires affordable housing be built to green building standards; requires Commissioner of Community Affairs to issue standards.[4]
Mayor, Franklin Township (2000)
After serving as deputy mayor in 1998, Chivukula briefly served as the mayor of Franklin Township in 2000.[4]
Member, Franklin Township Council (1997-2005)
Chivukula served as a member on the Franklin Township Council from 1997 until 2005.[4]
Appointments
2014
Chivukula was first appointed to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on September 18, 2014, by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.[3]
Committee assignments
2014-2015
At the beginning of the 2014 legislative session, Chivukula served on the following committees:[3]
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Telecommunications and Utilities, Chair |
| • Homeland Security and State Preparedness, Vice-Chair |
2010-2012
In the 2010-2012 legislative session, Chivukula served on the following committees:[3]
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Telecommunications and Utilities, Chair |
| • Appropriations |
Elections
2014
Chivukula ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 12th District. Chivukula sought the Democratic nomination in the primary on June 3, 2014, but lost to Bonnie Watson Coleman.
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bonnie Watson Coleman |
43% | 15,603 | ||
| Linda Greenstein | 27.8% | 10,089 | ||
| Upendra Chivukula | 21.8% | 7,890 | ||
| Andrew Zwicker | 7.4% | 2,668 | ||
| Total Votes | 36,250 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections - Official Election Results |
||||
Issues
Assemblyman Chivukula discussing a possible run for Congress |
Media
In this campaign ad, Chivukula describes his native country, India, as a place where one's birth determines one's quality of life, and he warns America not to follow in India's footsteps.[6]
Chivukula 2014 campaign ad |
2013
Chivukula won re-election in the 2013 election for New Jersey General Assembly District 17. Chivukula was bracketed with Joseph Egan. He was unopposed in the June 4 Democratic primary. He and incumbent Joseph Egan (D) defeated Carlo Dilalla (R) and Sanjay Patel (R) in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.[7][8][9][10]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 17 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joseph Egan Incumbent |
32.5% | 23,763 | |
| Democratic | Upendra Chivukula Incumbent |
31.9% | 23,331 | |
| Republican | Carlo Dilalla | 18.8% | 13,762 | |
| Republican | Sanjay Patel | 16.8% | 12,281 | |
| Total Votes | 73,137 | |||
2012
Chivukula ran for U.S. House in 2012, to represent New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[11] Chivukula was defeated by Leonard Lance in the general election.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Upendra Chivukula | 40% | 123,057 | |
| Republican | Leonard Lance Incumbent |
57.2% | 175,662 | |
| Libertarian | Patrick McKnight | 1.3% | 4,078 | |
| Independent | Dennis Breen | 1.5% | 4,518 | |
| Total Votes | 307,315 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2011
Chivukula won re-election in 2011. Chivukula and incumbent Joseph Egan ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary on June 7. They then defeated Carlo Dilalla and Robert Mettler in the November 8 general election.[13]
| New Jersey General Assembly District 17 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joseph Egan Incumbent |
31.9% | 15,165 | |
| Democratic | Upendra Chivukula Incumbent |
31.3% | 14,862 | |
| Republican | Carlo DiLalla | 18.2% | 8,627 | |
| Republican | Robert Mettler | 18.7% | 8,876 | |
| Total Votes | 47,530 | |||
2009
Running for re-election in the November 3, 2009, general election, Chivukula received 27,815 votes (30%), defeating challengers Salim Nathoo and Anthony Mazzola.[14] He was bracketed with Joseph Egan. [15]
| New Jersey Assembly General Election, Seventeenth Legislative District (2009) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Joseph V. Egan (D)
|
29,876 | |||
| Upendra J. Chivukula (D)
|
28,030 | |||
| Anthony Mazzola (R) | 18,023 | |||
| Salim A. Nathoo (R) | 16,419 | |||
Campaign themes
2014
Chivukula's official website listed his main issues as economic development, education, environment and senior citizens.[16]
His answers to the New Jersey State Legislative Election 2005 National Political Awareness Test are available. He did not answer the question asking his top priorities.[17]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Jersey scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 14 through January 12, 2015.
- ACLU-NJ: 2014-2015 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties.
- Americans for Prosperity: 2014 Midterm Legislator Ratings
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation.
- Clean Water Action: Legislative Scorecard 2014-2015
- Legislators are scored on environment and conservation issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2014 Legislative scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 13, 2014.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 9, 2013.
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Endorsements
2013
In 2013, Chivukula’s endorsements included the following:
2011
In 2011, Chivukula’s endorsements included the following:
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Chivukula and is wife, Dayci, have a son and a daughter.[4]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Upendra + Chivukula + New + Jersey"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
| New Jersey | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Nj.com, "Christie picks former Whitman official, N.J. Assemblyman for utilities board," September 18, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedPSCbio - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 [http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/bio.asp?Leg=202 New Jersey State Legislature, "Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula (D)," accessed Sept. 5, 2015]
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for House of Representatives," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ YouTube, "We Can't Let it Happen Here," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official 2013 General Assembly general election candidates," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 9, 2013
- ↑ WYNC, "Live! NJ Election Results," June 5, 2012
- ↑ NJPR, "Experts on NJ Redistricting" accessed October 8
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2011 Official General Assembly Primary Candidate List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "General Election Results, November 4, 2009," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official 2009 New Jersey Assembly General Election Results," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Assemblyman Chivukula's campaign website, "Issues," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Assemblyman Chivukula-Issue Positions," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ PolitickerNJ.com, "AFL-CIO endorses candidates for elections," accessed September 4, 2013
- ↑ Planned Parenthood NJ, "Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey Announces Endorsements in State Elections," accessed September 5, 2013
- ↑ Politicker NJ, "2011 AFL-CIO endorsed candidates," accessed August 5, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jeanne M. Fox |
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities 2014-2022 |
Succeeded by Zenon Christodoulou |
| Preceded by - |
New Jersey General Assembly District 17 2002-2014 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Mayor Franklin Township 2000-2000 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Franklin Township Council 1997-2005 |
Succeeded by - |
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