SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Diya TV) — Anita Malik, a former journalist, businesswoman and digital media entrepreneur is running for the U.S. Congress in the 6th Congressional District of Arizona.
She is running for the seat held by three-term Republican, David Schweikert.
Announcing her candidacy through a video, she touched on many topics.
“Many of us are working harder and harder every day, but it seems like we can’t catch up and our dream is out of reach. Meanwhile, the egos of our current leaders are getting in the way of solutions. Hate and division are overpowering progress. It is unacceptable, and it is not my style.”
The 41-year-old has been the COO at content marketing company ClearVoice for four years.
“As a woman of color, I stand a better chance of making a difference and affecting real change if I run for federal office because the average hard-working American is fed up with our leaders in Washington and this administration’s lack of progress,” she said.
“There were very few Indians when I was growing up, but I never felt the way I feel today, and I am in the same place and the same neighborhood and that is so disturbing to me, the fact that we are going in the opposite direction,” she added. After discussing a possible candidacy with confidants, she decided to run for Congress in May and expects to raise up to $3 million.
“We plan to run a highly digital campaign. This is a grassroots effort with digital savvy on our side,” she said. “I believe that is going to be a significant area that will help me and the Indian-American community will be a big support,” she added.
Malik says her time in the journalism field will “allow her to keep her profile high.” She says she will make sure that the voices of all South Asian and Asian-Americans will be heard. “I’ve been doing that my whole life and I will continue. Our stories are often ones of success, but that overlooks the struggles of so many. I will make sure those challenges, those stories are heard, and that we find solutions.”
Her parents are from Delhi. Raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she resides, she was born in Kansas City.
With Bachelor’s degrees in finance and computer systems from Arizona State University and a Master’s in journalism from USC, her education is diverse.
Among the clients she has consulted have been the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, PCS Healthcare, Schreiber Foods, Creative Testing Solutions and Rowboat Software.
She also spent time as deputy director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Institute of Business Journalism at Arizona State University.
Robert Haugh, a Bay Area based journalist who has been covering news, elections, arts & entertainment, professional sports, community events and crime for 18 years.