SHREWSBURY, MA— Indian-American Dr. Jonjy Ananth, MD lost by about 300 votes in a four-way race for Selectman in the Massachusetts town of Shrewsbury, whose Indian American population makes up a substantial portion of the population.
“We lost just by 300 votes.. It was our first campaign and there are lot of lessons learned,” Dr. Ananth’s Campaign Manager Thomas Arul said in a Facebook post. “Hopefully next time around we can use the experience from Fund Raising, Yard Sign Management, Volunteering, Meet and Greet, Holding Placards, Posters, House to House Visit, Social Media, E-Mail Campaign ,Debates, Phone calls, Articles, Door to Door calls etc.,etc., We need more youngsters participating in Local Elections .”
There were four candidates in Shrewsbury contesting for two seats. The election was on Tuesday, May 7th. The Office of Selectmen in the Town of Shrewsbury manages a $150 million town budget and oversees all town departments including police, fire, utilities, cable, roads, and parks. The Selectmen also appoint members of over 20 town boards and commissions.
Dr. Ananth is the state-wide Commissioner of the Asian American Commission for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts appointed by the Senate President. He is the principal and founder of Boston Mantra LLC, a health care start-up in Massachusetts in its incubator phase. He is also a Charter member of TIE-Boston, world’s largest not-for-profit network dedicated to helping startups grow with 60 chapters worldwide.
