印度裔美国会计师舒奇塔·帕特尔正在竞选美国佐治亚州的一个地方领导职位，挑战一位已连续16年无竞争对手当选的共和党现任官员，印度新闻社“印度新闻社”报道。
Indian-American accountant Shuchita Patel is contesting a local leadership election in the US state of Georgia, taking on a Republican incumbent who has been elected unopposed for 16 years, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
作为民主党人，帕特尔正在竞选福赛斯县专员一职，选举将于11月3日的中期选举中举行。她表示，参选是为了对抗一位她形容为“霸凌者”的对手，并为孩子们建设一个更好的社区。
Patel, a Democrat, is running for the Forsyth County commissioner’s post in the November 3 mid-term elections. She said she entered the race to stand up to an opponent she described as a bully and to help build a better community for children.
帕特尔是首位在福赛斯县竞选公职的印度裔美国人，该县有着种族暴力的历史。1912年，白人居民和三K党团体强行驱逐了几乎所有的黑人人口，该县在20世纪的大部分时间里几乎全是白人。
Patel is the first Indian-American to run for public office in Forsyth County, which has a history of racial violence. In 1912, white residents and Ku Klux Klan groups forcibly drove out virtually the entire Black population, and the county remained almost entirely white for much of the 20th century.
作为印度移民在美国出生的女儿，帕特尔正在挑战托德·莱文特，后者已连续16年无竞争对手当选。她的参选反映了福赛斯县以及更广泛的美国几十年来发生的变化，即使该国在支持和反对唐纳德·特朗普总统的阵营之间依然严重分裂。
Patel, the US-born daughter of Indian immigrants, is challenging Todd Levent, who has been elected unopposed for 16 years. Her candidature reflects the changes in Forsyth County and the wider United States over the decades, even as the country remains sharply divided between supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump.
中期选举将决定美国国会两院的组成，这类似于印度的议会。众议院所有435个席位和100名参议员中的37个席位将于11月3日进行角逐。
The mid-term elections will determine the composition of the two chambers of the US Congress, which is similar to India’s Parliament. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 37 seats in the 100-member Senate are at stake on November 3.
多个州还将选举州长和地方代表，包括县委员和学区委员会主席。大多数民意调查预测，特朗普领导的共和党将失去对众议院的控制权，并可能因选民对未兑现承诺、食品杂货、汽油和医疗保健价格高企以及对政治的普遍不满而失去参议院控制权。
Several states will also elect governors and local representatives, including county commissioners and school board heads. Most opinion polls predict that Trump’s Republican Party will lose control of the House of Representatives and could also lose the Senate amid anger over unfulfilled promises, the high cost of groceries, petrol and healthcare, and wider frustration with politics.
在前往一个以拉美裔移民为主的低收入社区拉票途中接受印度新闻社（PTI）采访时，帕特尔表示，经济问题是许多选民当前最优先关注的议题。“明确地说，我坚定地支持我们的跨性别邻居和选民。我想保护我们的移民社区。但如果连食品杂货都买不起，没人在乎代词，没人在乎移民问题，也没人在乎某人是否非法入境，”这位40岁的候选人说。“作为一个整体，国家正达到沸点。有精英、统治阶级、真正拥有财富的‘爱泼斯坦阶层’那1%的人，然后就是我们其他所有人，”她补充道。
In an interview with PTI while travelling to canvass in a low-income neighbourhood populated largely by Latino migrants, Patel said economic concerns were the immediate priority for many voters.“To be clear, I strongly believe in supporting our transgender neighbours and constituents. I want to protect our immigrant community. But no one cares about pronouns, no one cares about immigration, no one cares about whether someone is illegal or not if they can’t pay for their groceries,” the 40-year-old said.“We are reaching a boiling point in the country as a whole. There are the elites, the ruling class, the Epstein class that is truly 1 per cent that is wealthy, and there is the rest of us,” she added.
尽管预期对特朗普政府的愤怒可能会让一些传统的共和党州倒向对手，佐治亚州依然是一个稳固的共和党州。福赛斯县距离亚特兰大约一小时车程，仍以白人为主，白人居民占其28万人口的约61%。然而，印度裔社区已从2000年的约200名居民增长至近4.8万人，约占该县人口的16%。尽管她属于少数族裔社区，帕特尔认为自己有很好的获胜机会。
Despite expectations that anger against the Trump administration could turn some traditionally Republican states against the party, Georgia remains a strong Republican state. Forsyth County, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta, remains predominantly white, with white residents accounting for about 61 per cent of its population of 2.8 lakh. However, the Indian community has grown from about 200 residents in 2000 to nearly 48,000 people, or around 16 per cent of the county’s population. Although she belongs to a minority community, Patel believes she has a good chance of winning.
她说，县专员的职责，例如决定修缮哪些道路、升级哪些体育设施，无论获胜者属于哪个政党都保持不变。帕特尔还表示，选民已对莱文特感到厌倦，并指称他之所以一直无人竞争，是因为“他恐吓和欺凌”潜在挑战者。
She said the responsibilities of a county commissioner, such as deciding which roads should be repaired and which sports facilities should be upgraded, remain the same regardless of the winner’s political party. Patel also said voters were tired of Levent, alleging that he had remained unopposed because “he intimidated and bullied” potential challengers.
她承认自己没有政治经验，且此前认为“自己无能为力”来推动改变。在有人建议她参选后，她的看法发生了转变。“我觉得这触手可及。我觉得我能在自己世界的一个很小的范围内有所作为。他们还说，我的对手设法恐吓和欺凌了每一个敢于与他竞争的人。他们说他们需要一个皮厚、不怕站出来对抗欺凌者的人。所以我说：‘你们找对人了！’”帕特尔对印度亚洲通讯社（PTI）说。
She acknowledged that she had no political experience and had previously believed there was “nothing I could do” to bring about change. Her view shifted after she was approached about contesting the election.“It felt attainable. I felt I could make a difference in a very small section of my world. They also said my opponent has managed to bully and intimidate everyone who has dared to run against him. They said they need someone with thick skin and who is not afraid to stand up to a bully. So I said, ‘You got the right girl!’”
帕特尔说，她七岁的女儿曾问，如果竞选这么难，她为什么还要参选公职。她回答：“我希望这个社区能为你们变得更好。我希望你们拥有一个美好的社区成长。我希望子孙后代——也就是你们和你们的朋友——拥有一个美好的世界成长。”
Patel told PTI. Patel said her seven-year-old daughter had asked why she was running for office if it was so difficult. She replied: “I want this community to be better for you guys. I want you to have a beautiful community to grow up in. I want the future generations — that means you guys and your friends — I want you to have a beautiful world to grow up in.”
随着选民为11月3日的选举做准备，帕特尔的竞选活动将道路和体育设施等地方议题，与她挑战一位长期任职的现任官员、为子孙后代改善社区的努力结合在了一起。
As voters prepare for the November 3 elections, Patel’s campaign combines local issues such as roads and sports facilities with her effort to challenge a long-serving incumbent and improve the community for future generations.