Letters: Balachandran would benefit all; Krishnankutty an important voice on council

Balachandran would benefit all

I want to express my support for Gopal Balachandran for Centre County Judge. Gopal would bring almost 20 years of criminal law experience to his work on the bench, as well as a deeply held belief in fairness and justice that is evident both in his work and in his life.

Gopal has demonstrated a strong sense of civic duty in his work as a borough council member since November 2021. His support of the Tenant Bill of Rights and advocating for a new charging station in our town are just two examples of how he has prioritized and addressed issues that matter to people in our community.

Gopal is deeply connected to our community as a Borough Council member and as director of Penn State Law’s Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services Clinic, but also as a father and husband. My family has known him and his wife Jyoti since our kids went to preschool together. Gopal listens more than he talks, and is genuinely interested in what those around him have to say. Working formerly as a public defender, Gopal became familiar with the myriad factors in a person’s life that can bring them to a place of being the victim, or the perpetrator of violence. This compassion and sense of perspective on people’s lives are essential to the work of a county judge.

I believe we would all benefit by having Gopal Balachandran as a Centre County Judge.

Krishnankutty an important voice on council

My fellow council member, Nalini Krishnankutty, has a strong history of contributions to the State College community. That community involvement did much to convince her colleagues on Borough Council to appoint her to fill an unexpired term. I enthusiastically endorse her candidacy to fill out the remaining two years of that term.

When we appointed her, she was chair of the newly formed Community Oversight Board for our police department; she had already served on the ad hoc advisory committee that recommended its structure. Both of those were heavy duty assignments and her leadership was important in getting that board started. When she joined Council, I assigned her to the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) Finance Committee. That is perhaps the most difficult COG committee assignment and that committee had to do a quick rewrite of the COG budget to boot. She did her homework, made all the right inquiries, and served the Borough and COG well in that difficult process.

Her community involvement includes membership on the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, as a board member of the Mid-State Literacy Council, and a founding member of the PanAPIDA Circle, a local group formed to stand up to anti-Asian hate. Her TED/PSU talk on “How Immigrants Shape(d) the United States” is used in classrooms and workplaces across the country for education and training. Nalini has always been there to help make us a better community. Please help keep her important voice on Borough Council.

Penn State should drop Nike

It is clear that Penn State should be supporting the Nike workers in Thailand, and should drop the contract with them until they make those workers whole for the abuse they have suffered.

And in the meantime they could use the Canadian Gildan corporation as a backstop — Penn State already contracts out much of their signature wear apparel to them. I have been to one of their plants in Central America, and working for Gildan Is considered by most workers a plum job, And their products are excellent. Just saying…