Indian American state senator quits to join utility board

Iowa's influential Indian American State Senator Swati A Dandekar, a Democrat, who represented the state's district 18, has resigned from the legislature to take up a major position as one of three directors of the powerful Iowa Utilities Board.

Dandekar, who was elected to the Senate in 2008 and was up for re-election next year, and had earlier served two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2002, told rediff.com that although she was "extremely saddened to leave the legislature," and a political career which spanned nearly a decade, "'You don't say no to the Governor when he wants you to serve on such a prestigious and powerful board that regulates all of the utilities in Iowa -- from power to water and cable and telephone lines to power transmission lines."

"The board is responsible for regulating all of these industries," she said, and noted that it "was a full-time job and a huge responsibility and I will have to travel a lot and will have to go all over Iowa. It's going to be a big learning curve."

But, Dandekar, the first and thus far only Indian American to win a seat in the Iowa legislature, while reiterating that her new job would "be full of challenges and something completely new for me," acknowledged that she brings with her "all of my legislative experience of having chaired the Senate Commerce Committee and being vice-chair of the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee and also being a member of several other committees like Economic Growth, Transportation, Ways & Means and International Affairs."

Governor Terry Branstad in appointing Dandekar, a resident of Marion, to serve on the Utilities Board following the recent resignation of Rob Bernsten, said, "Swati Dandekar is uniquely qualified to serve on the Iowa Utilities Board. As chairperson of the Senate Commerce Committee and throughout her service in the Iowa Senate and House, she has demonstrated a deep understanding of the utility industry and of the energy issues facing our state."

"As a scientist with a degree in chemistry, Swati Dandekar will bring both an educational and professional background that will benefit our state's utility customers as she helps craft a regulatory environment that protects consumers while promoting energy production in Iowa," he predicted.

Dandekar is an alumnus of Nagpur University, from where she received her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry and Bombay University, from where she received a post-graduate diploma in dietetics.

She told rediff.com that "when the governor called me and offered me the position, he told me that he had seen me in action as Commerce chair in the Senate and as being very fair and doing what is right for Iowa and Iowans."

"He also told me that with my chemistry background and science background, he really wanted somebody who understood the industry from also a scientist's perspective. His goal is to have more wind energy and for that you need transmission lines and so you should understand all of that," she added.

Image: Swati A Dandekar