Indian American Gautam Bhatia elected as Naperville Township trustee

Indian American Gautam Bhatia was elected to the Naperville Township trustee board at-large in DuPage County, Illinois, last week. But Bhatia, who is the chair of the Naperville Township Democrats, representing Aurora, Naperville, and Warrenville towns in Illinois, is excited not just about his victory but also because of the wave of Democratic candidates elected across the City of Aurora and the City of Naperville; where the first Indian-American city council member Ashfaq Syed also won. Bhatia has been involved with the Naperville Township Democrats since 2018, first as a precinct committee member and then as chair.
Naperville Township has a five-member board with four trustees and the vote of the supervisor. Trustees are representatives of the public, and they vote on various important matters including approval of annual town budgets and tax levies; audit and approval of monthly bills and claims and funding for community programmes.
“When I was encouraged to run for the board trustee position, I had to consider my job as a technology professional at a leading cyber security company and the fact that I would have to give time during the day if I was elected,” Bhatia told the Times of India. He added that it was not just his election but he had supported all the Democratic candidates, running for different elected offices in Aurora and Naperville. “From basic planning of strategy to early endorsements, helping with meet and greet events among voters; precinct walk lists, information about polling locations, name recognition of newcomers and yard signs; our outreach and awareness programmes covered all the local Democratic candidates,” he said.
As the chair of the Naperville Township Democrats for the past five years, Bhatia has played an active role in supporting candidates running for Congress, circuit court, state representatives, senators and county board, city council, school board, library board and park district.
And though his voter base was not only among Indian Americans, Bhatia engaged with members of the community, especially the first-time voters, as part of his strategy of collecting data and analysing it for better civic engagement. He also believed strongly in collaboration with adjacent township Democratic organisations.
Bhatia, who went to the US as a student in 1990 for a degree in computer science, maths and physics from Augustana College, Illinois; moved to the Aurora-Naperville area in 2008 and since then has been involved in cultural and social activities of the Indian American community. “I gained recognition among the fast-growing Indian American community and also developed connections with local elected officials, volunteer groups and business and community leaders,” he said.
Bhatia added that a growing number of Indian Americans are running for elected offices and getting involved in public life. “I feel that as more members of the community get elected to public offices there will be a ripple effect. I encourage more Indian Americans to run for office. To make our voices heard, it is important to have a seat at the table,” he said.
The number of Indian Americans in the towns of Aurora and Naperville is growing with people from all walks of life choosing to buy homes and settle down there, Bhatia said. “From gas station owners and wedding planners to restaurateurs, real estate investors, attorneys, doctors, engineers and financial experts; Indian Americans from all walks of life have moved here. And most are very well educated. Every year, thousands join the celebrations of Holi and Diwali here,” he added.
Bhatia served as the chair of the City of Aurora’s Indian American community outreach advisory board between 2015 and 2019 and helped start a scholarship for Indian students. “We also organised events such as mental health and diversity awareness programmes for members of the community,” he said.