NEW YORK (Diya TV) — Indian American Pramilla Malick has announced her formal candidacy for the 42nd District of New York’s state house. A Democrat, she filed an “opportunity-to-ballot” petition in July to appear on the November ballot opposite previously unopposed Republican incumbent, state Sen. John Bonacic, who has held the post since 1999.
The petition will allow those seeking to vote for Malick to write in her name on their ballots during the upcoming primary on Sept. 13. No members from the local Republican party objected to her late petition, setting up the first contested election for Bonacic since 2010.
A leader of the Protect Orange County citizens group, Malick has helped lead opposition to the Competitive Power Ventures electricity plant under construction in Wawayanda. She said her campaign is powered by people, not PACs, and that she “is tired of watching politicians succumb to corruption.”
She’s running on the platform of tackling a variety of issues, including ethical matters, environment, education, energy and employment. Specifically, Malick has promised to focus her attention the most on “protecting our environment, transforming our energy infrastructure to renewable energy, transitioning our economy to support green job creation, education, public health, safety and welfare.”
Her first dive into the public arena came in 2011 when her town began plans to construct a compressor station just a half-mile from her home. Since then, she has been a leading voice in the struggle against hydraulic fracturing and its related infrastructure.
She has led campaigns for community rights against the state and corporate seizure of private property and local natural resources, her official campaign website said.
Malick currently works with several grassroots organizations on formulating health, energy and climate change policy on the local, state and national level. She has also presented her work to the EPA and Council on Environmental Quality along with community organizations throughout the country.
Born in India, Malick was raised in Pennsylvania as the daughter of a public school science teacher and her father who was a physics professor at the University of Scranton. Malick herself attended the university her father taught at, where she obtained her bachelor’s in biology.
