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Last week when I was live-blogging the incoming polling data from around the country, I didn’t list every South Asian candidate. Manish posted a link to some additional results in the comment section of my post. A race to be on the Fairfield City Council in Solano County, CA turned out to be one of the most dramatic races of the night. The Indian American candidate, Democrat Iqbal “Paul” Randhawa, lost with a meager 5% of the vote. There was drama nonetheless:
As voters cast ballots Tuesday afternoon, Fairfield City Council candidate Paul Randhawa, his wife and son were in court.After confirming the charges against each of the owners of Fairfield-based M&K Travel Services, Solano County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara James told the trio they could post a collective $2 million bail once they appear in court in San Francisco.
They were then returned to Solano County Jail.
“Is my lawyer here?” a confused Iqbal “Paul” Randhawa asked before he was led from the courtroom. He told The Reporter during a Monday jailhouse interview that he hoped to post bail following Tuesday’s hearing.
Randhawa, his wife, Gurdev “Debbie” Randhawa, and son, Manjinder “Manny” Randhawa, were arrested Monday at their Dynasty Drive home on San Francisco-issued warrants alleging fraudulent business practices.
Paul Randhawa, 52, faces 15 counts of grand theft, 15 counts of failing to refund money and one count of conspiracy. His bail is $1 million. [Link]
Damn. Way to kick a man when he is down. Not only does he get creamed in the election, but he has to spend election day in jail with his family. What kind of game was Paul running?
According to the authorities the Randhawa family which operates M&K Travels with offices in Fairfield, San Francisco and San Jose allegedly failed to deliver more than $50,000 worth of discounted air tickets to India; and in two instances clients received refund cheques that bounced.
Randhawa, his wife and son face 31 counts of conspiracy and grand theft, they said.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Paul Randhawa, if convicted, could face 13 years and four months in a state prison along with a fine of $375,000. [Link]
As you would expect, the conspiracy theories soon followed:
His supporters find the charges suspicious. On the eve of elections, campaign manager Chuck Hammonds remarked, “We didn’t come this far to give up and once he wins of course he will take his seat.” [Link]
Paul should fire the delusional campaign manager who predicted victory.
Ben Sandhu, an officer with the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Fairfield, where the Randhawas worship, said he believed in the family’s innocence. “He was doing his business, he was taking care of his family. We never found anything that he was a bad guy,” Sandhu said. “It was a surprise, a complete surprise.”
Sandhu echoed Randhawa’s earlier accusation, that the arrest was politically motivated. “There’s something wrong somewhere,” he said. “Maybe someone tried to set him up.” [Link]
Yeah Ben. I just hope for your sake that you didn’t buy any tickets to India from Paul’s travel agency.
