Ravi Sangisetty, U.S. Congress, Third District
1. Tell the community about yourself?
My name is Ravi Sangisetty. I was born and raised right here in South Louisiana. My parents came to this country from India looking for opportunity. My dad stepped off a plane over thirty years ago with seven dollars in his pocket and a dream of a better life for his family.
They found success right here in South Louisiana. They worked hard, played by the rules and taught me to do the same thing. I graduated from Vanderbilt Catholic High School in 1999, received my undergraduate and graduated from LSU law in 2006. I served a federal clerkship after law school, and then I went into practice as a business attorney.
2. What do you want people to know about your campaign?
I’m running for Congress because Washington is broken. I’m frustrated and discouraged with the direction of this country and in particular the federal government. When my dad came to this country, this was the land of opportunity. Now, more and more, it’s becoming the land for the opportunistic.
We need new blood in Washington, not career politicians. We need reform and we need it now. Taxpayers are funding bailouts, golden parachutes, pay raises and Cadillac health plans for career politicians and their friends.
I’ll be a conservative voice standing up for South Louisiana values. I’m 100 percent pro-life and pro-gun.
3. What is your strategy?
My strategy is to meet as many voters as I can. The people in this district are fed up with government dysfunction, and I am too. When I am out there talking to people, I tell them that Washington is broken, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead of issuing a drilling moratorium, the federal government could have marshaled all of its resources toward the cleanup of BP’s spill. Instead of the Army Corps of Engineers taking decades to study a problem, we could take their decision-making power away so that decisions that affect the people of South Louisiana are made here.
4. What makes you different from others?
I’m different because I am not a career politician or a political insider. I’m a regular guy. If elected, I won’t accept taxpayer-funded healthcare or retirement. I won’t become a lobbyist after I leave, and I’ll never vote to raise my own pay. I want to get the job done and come home.
