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WRITE-IN: BHUREN PATEL
While not officially in the Democratic primary, Needham resident and small business owner Bhuren Patel hopes to secure residents’ vote in September.
Patel is running as a write-in candidate, meaning voters would need to write his name on their ballots. He meant to run as a Democrat and filed paperwork to change his party affiliation from Independent to Democrat, but that paperwork apparently was lost in the shuffle, causing him to miss the primary filing deadline, he said.
He was left with two choices: run as an Independent, which he says doesn’t align with his values, or stage a write-in campaign.
“I have incurred higher, bigger challenges before,” Patel said. “I’m not afraid.”
As an international student from India, Patel attended the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, supporting himself along the way — “a typical first-generation immigrant story,” he said. Twenty-five years ago, Patel founded Community Pharmacy, which has since rebranded into Pelmeds, located in Waltham and Fitchburg.
When the pandemic hit, booking a vaccine became difficult, especially for those most vulnerable. That included people with severe physical and intellectual disabilities, who Patel’s pharmacy serves.
Patel recalls making daily calls to state agencies “begging and pleading” for vaccines for those clients. In doing so, he said he recognized the inequities within the health care system.
“We’re in Boston. We have some of the best health care in the country, and yet folks have such limited access,” Patel said. “It’s quite frustrating.”
Those literal calls to action inspired Patel to consider a future run for state office, so when Garlick made her announcement, his decision was made. With Garlick’s nursing background and advocacy work for people with disabilities, Patel said he feels a connection with the legislator.
As state representative, Patel said he’d like to address the lack of primary care physicians that lead to long waits for appointments and the high health care costs that pose a concern for both small businesses and patients.
Patel said Needham and its representatives should also incentivize big business to plant roots in town so as to gain property tax revenue that drives improvements.
“I just look at our center of town. It’s pizza shops, banks, nail salons,” Patel said. “That’s great. It supports local communities. We support them, they support us, but that doesn’t bring us the revenue we need.”
Patel, a Needham resident since 2005, said he hopes to stand out among the other candidates.
“I bring health care, I bring small business, I bring first-generation migrant,” Patel said. “I bring a different perspective.”
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Running for change
By running as a write-in primary candidate, Bhuren Patel is taking an unusual path to the Democratic nomination for state Representative. But Patel is used to unusual paths. He came alone to the U.S. from India at 17 to study pharmacology. Not liking the economics or customer service of big chain pharmacies, he chose to work for independents. Then, recognizing the hard-met need of patients who were essentially housebound due to age, physical or mental challenges, he left the brick-and-mortar world 25 years ago to launch a delivery-only pharmacy to serve those communities.
And that’s what led him to politics.
“During COVID there was a massive inequity of vaccine distribution,” he said. “The feds contracted out with CVS and Walgreens, and in the state (Gov.) Charlie Baker decided he was going to go the route of mass vaccination sites. It works for getting your numbers up in vaccinations, but it doesn’t work for a certain population. People with intellectual disabilities, for example, are not able to cope with massive crowds. So I would be on the calls with the state every single day fighting for vaccines and advocating for this type of population. And at that point, I said to my wife as a joke, maybe I should just run for office to change something.”
The thought stayed with him, so when state Rep. Denise Garlick announced her retirement, Patel took action — but he ran into a bureaucratic challenge: His recent registration as a Democrat did not appear in town records. “I went to the secretary of state’s office to pull my paperwork. They said I was not registered as a Democrat. The office said the only way it would be turned is if the town clerk said this was a miscommunication. This is what needs to be fixed. Well, they [Needham town clerk’s office] didn’t want to do it.
“I had two choices: run as an independent or run as a write-in. Everyone advised me against running as a write-in because it’s a more challenging route. But I said, these are my values. I don’t want to run as an independent because I am a Democrat in what I believe in.”
Diane DerMarderosian, a longtime family friend, said values are important to the Patels. They are a family of caregivers, she said. Patel’s wife, Parshavi is a social worker.
“Relationships and people and people’s wellbeing are very important to him, both in his personal life and also in his professional life,” said DerMarderosian. “A lot of the people that he works with, particularly in the healthcare setting, have become his friends.” She and Patel became friends when their eldest children, now 20, were in daycare together, but the two also worked together during COVID. A pediatrician, she worked with Patel to distribute vaccines at the peak of the pandemic. Among other services to the Needham community, Patel’s company held vaccination clinics at Pollard Middle School for Needham public and private school students.
“He’s very much of a passionate, get-things-done person. And he is very used to collaborating and partnering with people across systems and settings.”
Part of that dexterity arose from a very personal need: Patel’s younger son, who is 10, has a rare kidney condition that requires constant monitoring and treatment by a small cadre of specialists. “He was 3 when he was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease,” he said. “At some point it’s inevitable that his kidneys will fail.” But, said Patel, “Right now he’s been stable, knock on wood. It’s been seven years now and he does everything a 10-year-old would do.”
In support, the Patels launched a small foundation, called Two Kidneys, One Heart, to support awareness and research for pediatric kidney health.
Patel, 56, said he seeks balance between hard work, family and fun — DerMarderosian said he represents the best of all three.
“I worked full time through college to the extent where I was denied financial aid because I made too much money,” Patel said ruefully. “On the flip side, I was the first student at a small pharmacy chain I used to work at that was getting full-time benefits because I was working full time. I was the only kid with vacation and insurance. Go figure.”
“He’s always the first that, if you’re flying in from the airport or whatever, that will be there to make sure you’re picked up or dropped off,” said DerMarderosian. He’s also the one who organizes parties for every occasion. “The kids all try to emulate his Secret Santa gifts because they’re always so funny and perfect.” And, she said, Patel needs little excuse to make a big deal of an occasion. One of the favorite family celebrations? March 14, or Pi Day. “There is pizza and pie for everyone. And most importantly for Bhuren, he celebrates being surrounded by friends and family, cultivating connections amongst the people he cares about most.”
As featured in https://needhamobserver.com/running-for-change/