my friend Manan is running for Congress

[Fair warning: the post below does not discuss any political opinions, but just a political candidate]

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This is my friend Manan. We were classmates at UCLA and both received our MPPs from the School of Public Affairs a few years back. In other words, we whispered in class to each other while the Professor was talking, played softball, and drank beers together during post-Econ exam celebrations.  He was also in my “Applied Policy Project” workgroup and shared an advisor, so for 2 ruthless quarters, I became intimately aware of his intense research into the policies surrounding PTSD in the military and the role that Veterans Affairs played in helping service members access services for both diagnosis and treatment. After graduation, I got the chance to add my editing touches to his education policy platform through another classmate, and this spring I got to see the adorable pictures of his newborn daughter Sonia on facebook. Oh, and did I tell you he’s running for Congress?

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Yup, that’s right. CONGRESS. The big white dome thing in DC. And I know this sounds so cliche, but he really is just the perfect person for the job. In addition to be an excellently trained policy analyst, he’s also a medical doctor and a veteran of the Iraq war. Now I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention to the political climate as of late, but a Congressman that understands the health care field as a practitioner and someone who’s intimately acquainted with the ongoing combat situation in the Mideast might just be a pretty nifty asset to have. Add to that his work ethic (seriously… I would put any deadline in his hands after watching the magic that occurred during the APP project insanity) and every other awesome trait about him that I’d feel silly listing out here… and well, I think you’d consider him a pretty wonderful contender.

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Now I don’t mean for this to be any sort of campaign ad… but if you or your friends and family happen to live in PA’s 6th District… make sure you check out his website. What I just wanted to share with you was that my kick-ass classmate, Manan, is running for Congress. And that in itself is amazingly cool. But what’s even cooler, is that I’m not only proud to know him personally, but I’d be absolutely ecstatic for our country if he won!  So, I apologize for any excessive tweets that may come around Election Day, but other than our big local races here (the new Guvernator and woman Senator), this is the one I’ll be following all night long come November.

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Good luck Manan!