COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Diya TV) — Janak Joshi, a former three-term state representative, is now hoping to transition into a role representing District 6 on the Colorado Springs City Council.
Joshi hopes his experience and relationships in the state house will help sway the vote in his favor. “I can actually help the city work with the state on issues that would affect us, whether rules, regulations, finances or business issues. I can pick up a phone and call any one of them,” he told local media.
He cites nearly five decades of running his own medical practice for helping him get better versed in “with what businesses go through in red-tape bureaucracy, and I want to make sure this community thrives.” Joshi’s primary election loss to Larry Liston last June capped a particularly nasty race that included a letter circulated by Joshi’s team with a photo of his opponent depicted “as a cross-dressing liberal.”
Joshi likes to spend much less time rehashing the events of that campaign.
“It’s behind me. I’m not going to speak to that,” he said. “I am moving on with my life.”
He has also moved on from his medical career, since his license was suspended by the state back in 2007 after he admitted to “unprofessional conduct” in the care of a 76-year-old patient. When the board later determined that he had not undergone remedial training as ordered, he agreed to surrender his license.
As an immigrant from India, Joshi said, “I bring a very different perspective, being culturally different and having a very varied background. I have achieved the American dream; I can’t do anything to hurt that process. My goal is to make sure future generations can achieve the American dream.”
The city’s top issue now is the economy, he said. “We need to make sure we have a vibrant economy. If I can maintain the economy as it is, I would feel good after four years.”
