Yogesh Chawla for Dane County Board District 6.
Jodi and I met each other in 2000 while protesting former President George W. Bush's inauguration. We worked together as activists and writers. We married on September 8, 2007, the same date referenced in one of our favorite Pablo Neruda poems. Our wedding theme was "Polka meets Bhangra" and we honored both our Indian and Dutch traditions. At our wedding, we fed each other marigold flowers and we named our daughter Marigold. As a family, we have committed ourselves to building a more equitable and inclusive community where we work together to make everyone's future brighter.
In June 2015, we installed solar panels on our house. We had just suffered another electoral defeat in Wisconsin and we felt that we urgently had to act on climate change. With the help of Legacy Solar Coop, we were able to navigate the financing, state and federal tax credits and we took the big leap forward. You can follow our solar production by clicking here.
Our system should pay for itself in the next 10 years and from that point forward it will continue to produce clean energy until the panels reach their end of life of 25 years.
Let's work together in Dane County to support our residents and businesses to transition to clean and cost effective renewable energy.
When Jodi and I married on September 8, 2007, we followed Indian tradition and walked around the fire seven times (Saptapadi). Each trip signified a commitment we made to each other and the sixth trip affirmed our commitment to uphold the values of peace, social justice, and respect for the earth.
We have worked to pass these values to our daughter Marigold and from a young age she has accompanied us to protests, fundraisers, and knocking doors for progressive candidates.