Raj Goyle

Raj Goyle
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 87th district
In office
2007–2011
Preceded by Bonnie Huy
Succeeded by Joseph Scapa
Personal details
Born (1975-06-09) June 9, 1975
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Monica Goyle
Residence Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Alma mater Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Duke University (B.A.)
Profession attorney, university lecturer
Website rajforkansas.com

Rajeev Kumar Goyle (born June 9, 1975) is a Democratic politician from Kansas, who represented the 87th District in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.[1][2] He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for Kansas's 4th congressional district.

Early life, education and career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Goyle and his parents resettled in Wichita, Kansas when he was 9 months old. His parents, Dr. Vimal Goyle and Dr. Krishan Goyle, immigrated to the United States from the rural areas of Bathinda, India in 1971.[3] His mother is an obstetrician and gynecologist and his father is a cardiologist who operates the Goyle Clinic in Wichita. When he was 15, Goyle was an organizer in a community-wide recycling program that removed hundreds of pounds of garbage from the county landfill and led to a cleanup of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita. As a reporter for the Wichita Eagle, he worked with U.S.D. 259 to produce the annual ‘back-to-school’ issue and wrote a column on each high school in the city. At Wichita Collegiate School, he was active in sports, debate, and newspaper, and graduated as both valedictorian and student body president. He also interned on the Clinton/Gore presidential campaign in 1996.[4]

Goyle attended Duke University where he was a member of a fraternity and was a student representative to a coalition of faculty and students aiming to improve working conditions on campus. He then went to Harvard Law School where he founded a small technology company with two classmates and where he was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau.

Goyle is an attorney and a lecturer at Wichita State University.[5][6]

Kansas House of Representatives

Goyle is a member of the following committees:

Goyle wrote the Kansas Funeral Privacy Act and introduced it on his first day in office, which includes the establishment of a 150-foot buffer zone around funerals one hour before, during and two hours after the end of a service to prevent protestors from engaging in public demonstration. "This bill is designed to protect a constitutional right to privacy during the funeral of a family that's mourning a loved one," Goyle said.[7] This was done in reaction to members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketing at the funerals of military casualties of the Iraq invasion and occupation. It became effective on April 10, 2008.[8][9]

Goyle said third-party groups who attempt to influence the outcome of elections should be required to publicly disclose information about their finances. Under an amendment offered by Goyle, groups spending more than $500 a year on issue advertisements naming a particular state or local candidate 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election would be subject to reveal information about their spending and donors in financial reports being filed with the state. The amendment was opposed by conservatives as a violation of free speech.

Seven counties in Kansas have no pharmacy, and another 30 have only one each. State Rep. Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, proposed an admendent for University of Kansas pharmacy school expansion, which Goyle supported saying, "This is a priority not just for KU, Lawrence and Wichita, but for the whole state."[10]

Goyle successfully introduced House Bill 2374, which draws down $69 million in federal stimulus dollars for the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The legislation makes three revisions to the current unemployment insurance statute:

As a state legislator, he listed his priorities as "no free lunches from lobbyists, educating our children, reducing health care costs, real solutions on energy, fighting for immigration reform," and "helping small businesses."[11] According to state ethics officials, Goyle and State Sen. David Wysong, R-Mission Hills, are state lawmakers who received no direct attention from lobbyists.[12]

2010 U.S. Congressional campaign

Goyle ran against Republican nominee Republican National Committeeman Mike Pompeo, Libertarian nominee Shawn Smith, and Reform Party nominee Susan G. Ducey for this open seat.

Republican incumbent Todd Tiahrt decided to run in the U.S. Senator election in 2010, although he lost the nomination to Jerry Moran.[13] Goyle won against Robert Tillman in the Democratic primary.

The seat was rated as "Likely Republican" by CQ Politics.[14] In March 2010, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Goyle's name to its "Red to Blue" list of the strongest candidates running for Republican held seats.[15] On August 12, 2010, SurveyUSA and KWCH-TV released a poll on the Kansas 4th Congressional district campaign between Pompeo and Goyle. According to the poll, in which 604 likely voters were interviewed, Pompeo led Goyle 49% to 42% with a margin of error of 4.1%. On election day, Goyle was defeated by Pompeo by a large 22% margin, 58% to 36% in what was considered to be a nationally favorable climate for Republicans.[16]

Personal life

On July 24, 2004, he married Monica Arora, an attorney and daughter of retired public school teachers in Middletown, Upstate New York. On December 31, 2009, their first child, a daughter named Ana Kumari Goyle, was born.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "rediff.com: Raj Goyle re-elected to Kansas Legislature". Specials.rediff.com. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  3. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories". Tribuneindia.com. 2007-03-31. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  4. ↑ Duke School of Public Policy
  5. ↑ http://www.rajforkansas.com/about
  6. ↑ "State Rep. Raj Goyle | Kansas Democratic Party". Ksdp.org. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  7. ↑ Tim Carpenter (2007-03-30). "Funeral picketing measure approved". CJOnline.com. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  8. ↑ Funeral privacy act rises from judicial grave, KansasLiberty.com, April 3, 2008
  9. ↑ Statute 21-4015a Kansas Legislature
  10. ↑ "State’s pharmacist shortage may not wait | WE Blog | Wichita Eagle Blogs". Blogs.kansas.com. 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  11. ↑ Rep. Raj Goyle Issues and Ideas
  12. ↑ "The Hutchinson News Online Edition". Hutchnews.com. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  13. ↑ Dion Lefler. Goyle says he's running for Congress. July 11, 2009. The Wichita Eagle.
  14. ↑ Toeplitz, Shira. "Solid Democratic Recruit Changes Kansas 4 Rating". CQ Politics. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  15. ↑ Brandon EnglishMar 10, 2010 (2010-03-10). "Announces First Round of Red to Blue Program - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee". DCCC. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  16. ↑ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/house/ks/kansas_4th_district_pompeo_vs_goyle-1703.html
  17. ↑ "Newest Goyle is a girl | Wichitopekington | Wichita Eagle Blogs". Blogs.kansas.com. Retrieved 2010-08-15.

External links

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