Ro Khanna who’s challenging fellow Democrat and seven time incumbent Mike Honda for the 17th Congressional seat in Santa Clara Valley has upset more than a few people.
The 37-year old’s parents tell the SF Chronicle their son has been speaking his mind and challenging the establishment since his teenage years.
Khanna first run at public office was in 2004 when he ran against Rep Tom Lantos in San Mateo because Lantos supported the Iraq War and the Patriot Act. He lost that battle and then moved to Fremont to explore a run in 2012 against another incumbent, Rep Pete Stark, a 20-term congressman. Stark lost that race, but not to Khanna. Khanna decided not to run, a decision he likely regrets.
His move into Silicon Valley has lead to charges he hasn’t paid his dues. Khanna is challenging another popular incumbent with strong support from labor unions. Khanna has gotten into the general election largely on the support of Silicon Valley where he works as an Economics professor at Stanford and has been a lawyer for many technology companies.
His parents say when Khanna was just 13, he went to the school board meeting to speak out against cuts in youth programs. He wrote letters to the editor opposing the Gulf War when he was 14, and he organized a boycott at Yale against the Yale Law Review because he said it didn’t include enough minority and women voices.
You can read about where Khanna gets his drive in the SF Chronicle.
