Mehul Thakker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mehul M. Thakker was the 2006 Green Party candidate for State Treasurer in California.

Mehul M. Thakker is the first South Asian person to run for a Statewide office in California as a Green Party candidate^[1]. In 2006, he ran for State Treasurer^[2] as the only candidate not accepting donations from corporations^[3]

Thakker is a second generation South Asian American whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India in 1969. He was born and raised in Odessa, Texas, where he graduated from Permian High School in 1995^[4]. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas^[5]

As co-author of the book, California Under Corporate Rule,^[6] Thakker outlined the reasons that there are so many uninsured Californians and proposes that single-payer health care is the best long-term solution for all the people of California.

Along with Peter Miguel Camejo, Donna J. Warren, Forrest Hill, Michael Wyman, Larry Cafiero, and Todd Chretien, Mehul comprises the MVP slate of Green Party candidates^[7]. MVP stands for "Million Votes for Peace," a campaign in which these candidates aim to garner one million votes from California voters that are against the war in Iraq^[8].

In the 2006 California statewide election, the Green Party is distinguishing itself as the only party that has been against the war in Iraq since its inception^[9], the only party that supports complete legalization for immigrant workers, and the only party that refuses to accept political donations from corporate donors^[10].

Mehul M. Thakker is an Investment Advisor with Oakland, CA based Progressive Asset Management (PAM)^[11]. PAM was founded in 1987 as the nation's first, independent socially responsible investment broker-dealer^[12]. Thakker is also active the movements for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), shareholder rights, and to expose unnecessarily high CEO compensation packages^[13].