Apprentice alumnus announces candidacy for Congress
Josh Kiger
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Community
Donald Trump may have told him "you're fired," but there's one contestant who's here to prove Trump doesn't actually have the final word.
In 2010, independent candidate and The Apprentice alumnus Surya Yalamanchili will run for the congressional seat of Ohio's second district.
The second district's seat - which includes parts of Hamilton, Warren and Scioto counties and all of Adams, Brown, Pike and Clermont counties - is currently held by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R).
Yalamanchili was a contestant on season six of The Apprentice in 2006 but said he doesn't feel it should affect his chances in a positive or negative manner.
Miami University sophomore Jordan Strope said he doesn't think Yalamanchili's television appearance shouldn't affect voters' decisions.
"Reality contestants are people, too," Strope said. "It's supposed to be reality, so why treat them like TV stars? His being on The Apprentice holds no weight in my eyes. He seems like a nice guy and just another concerned person."
A resident of Ohio since the early 2000s, Yalamanchili worked his way up through Procter and Gamble to eventually become its brand manager. Yalamanchili said this experience will help him since politics is "very much a business."
"(To be a candidate you) are marketing yourself as a product and the voters are the consumers," Yalamanchili said.
He said his knowledge of marketing can be combined with his past with budgets as a brand manager.
"(It will help me) manage (my) own budget and to skillfully maintain (my) campaign," Yalamanchili said.
Yalamanchili was all business when asked about his platform, enthused but serious.
"The government is no longer working for the average American or Ohioan and that can be seen especially in Ohio's second district," Yalamanchili said. "(I am an) independent because the major parties have become too focused on one-upping one another thus forgetting about the citizens they are supposed to be leading."
In 2010, independent candidate and The Apprentice alumnus Surya Yalamanchili will run for the congressional seat of Ohio's second district.
The second district's seat - which includes parts of Hamilton, Warren and Scioto counties and all of Adams, Brown, Pike and Clermont counties - is currently held by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R).
Yalamanchili was a contestant on season six of The Apprentice in 2006 but said he doesn't feel it should affect his chances in a positive or negative manner.
Miami University sophomore Jordan Strope said he doesn't think Yalamanchili's television appearance shouldn't affect voters' decisions.
"Reality contestants are people, too," Strope said. "It's supposed to be reality, so why treat them like TV stars? His being on The Apprentice holds no weight in my eyes. He seems like a nice guy and just another concerned person."
A resident of Ohio since the early 2000s, Yalamanchili worked his way up through Procter and Gamble to eventually become its brand manager. Yalamanchili said this experience will help him since politics is "very much a business."
"(To be a candidate you) are marketing yourself as a product and the voters are the consumers," Yalamanchili said.
He said his knowledge of marketing can be combined with his past with budgets as a brand manager.
"(It will help me) manage (my) own budget and to skillfully maintain (my) campaign," Yalamanchili said.
Yalamanchili was all business when asked about his platform, enthused but serious.
"The government is no longer working for the average American or Ohioan and that can be seen especially in Ohio's second district," Yalamanchili said. "(I am an) independent because the major parties have become too focused on one-upping one another thus forgetting about the citizens they are supposed to be leading."
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