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Ohio State Senator Niraj Antani Ends Term on Record of Accomplishments; Will Announce Future Plans Soon

by News India Times
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Senator Niraj Antani. PHOTO: Antani@LinkedIn

Ohio’s only Indian American State Senator Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) ends his term as a State Senator in the Ohio Senate Dec. 31, 2024. Senator Niraj Antani ran unsuccessfully for the US Congress in the 2024 elections, and thus did not seek re-election to the state senate, resulting in his term ending on the last day of 2024.

In a press release, the young State Senator noted he has completed more than a decade of service in the Ohio General Assembly, and will be announcing his next steps soon.

First elected as State Representative in the Ohio House of Representatives at age 23 in 2014, he served 6 years there before being elected State Senator in 2020. He served as the youngest Member of the Ohio House and Ohio Senate for his duration of service.

Antani draws attention to being the first Indian and Hindu American State Senator in Ohio history and the youngest Hindu and Indian American state or federal elected official in the United States.

“It has been the privilege of my life to serve the community in which I was born and raised in the Ohio General Assembly for the past decade. I want to give my deepest thanks to my 360,000 constituents and voters for entrusting me to be your vote and voice at the Statehouse, and to all of my supporters for giving me the ability to win 4 competitive races. I have worked hard every day over the last decade to give every Ohioan the ability to achieve their American Dream. I have fought for you, standing steel-spined, never compromising our shared values, despite relentless pressure from the political establishment. I am so incredibly grateful for this ability to serve. Thank you,” Sen. Antani is quoted saying in the press release.

Antani highlights some of his accomplishments as follows:

— successfully killed significant pieces of legislation that would’ve affected our major healthcare employers, Premier Health, Kettering Health, and Caresource, saving thousands of jobs.

— He led the charge for increased funding significantly for Ohio’s community colleges, including Sinclair Community College, helping advance a skilled workforce for our region.

— saving the Miamisburg Mound business park from going out of business by enacting a special tax exemption.

— single-handedly secured funding for Dayton History’s Carillon Park expansion, and was able to increase Montgomery County’s share of the state capital budget by millions, resulting in millions more dollars for regional institutions like Dayton Art Institute, Boonshoft Museum, and many more.

—Sen. Antani and his staff have responded to constituent concerns and requests for help of over 15,000 constituents over the past decade.

Antani is the author of the law that gave name, image, and likeness rights for college athletes. As a direct result of Sen. Antani’s law passing, the NCAA allows NIL rights for all college athletes across the country, he noted.

“Millions of dollars have been earned by college athletes in Ohio since enactment, changing their and their families lives forever,” the press release noted.

As well, Sen. Antani says his enacting the law that set public record law for police-worn body cameras, means that now the public and news media has access, “which has resulted in a new culture of accountability and transparency for both police and the public.”

Sen. Antani enacted various other laws through bills, amendments, and the state budget.

In the State Senate, Antani served as the Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and on the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee. In the House, he served as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Rules, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Insurance, and as member of the Committee on Health, Committee on Public Utilities, and the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.

Originally elected in 2014 after beating 4 opponents in the Republican primary within the Montgomery County Republican Party, Antani was re-elected without opposition in 2016. In 2018, he won a 3-way GOP primary with 63%, beating two opponents, one of which was the Vice-Mayor of Miamisburg whose family had lived in Miamisburg for 6 generations.

Senator Niraj Antani family immigrated to the United States just 45 years ago. The 33-year old Antani lives in Miamisburg, Ohio. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Miamisburg High School.

(Used with permission)

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