With one week until the election, a years-old video showing Tara Sreekrishnan egging a Cupertino resident’s car has resurfaced, moving some to raise concerns about her run for state Assembly.
Sreekrishnan, a candidate for the contentious Assembly District 26 seat, egged the car of a Cupertino resident who she felt made offensive comments regarding her Indian American background — which she said she didn’t want to rehash — roughly five years ago. A 2019 surveillance video obtained by San José Spotlight shows Sreekrishnan in a puffy jacket and sunglasses lobbing eggs at a car parked in the driveway at about 10:45 p.m. The egging followed her unsuccessful run for Cupertino City Council in 2018 — a race that has remained contentious today — but she said the incident had nothing to do with that.
Sreekrishnan’s father paid the resident $299 on PayPal after the incident, which she called a prank, according to Politico. Sreekrishnan said the payment was for a deep clean car wash and that there was no damage to the car. She added she’s apologized to the resident — a family friend who she said has hosted a campaign event for her earlier this year — and said the incident was one of her biggest mistakes during a low point in her life. A Cupertino resident who shared the footage declined to name the affected resident, and Sreekrishnan also declined to name them.
Sreekrishnan said everyone has things they wish they could take back and this tops her list. She added she’s held herself accountable for the mistake.
“I think if more politicians could admit when they’re wrong and learn from their personal mistakes, our state would be an even better place to live,” Sreekrishnan told San José Spotlight.
Sreekrishnan is running against Patrick Ahrens, a Foothill-De Anza Community College District trustee and Assemblymember Evan Low’s district director, for Assembly District 26. Ahrens did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The district encompasses Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino and parts of North and West San Jose.
If elected, Sreekrishnan would bring her experience as state Sen. Dave Cortese’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director, as well as her position as a Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee. She would also be the first Hindu woman in the state Assembly. She’s supported by Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Susan Ellenberg and the Fund Her PAC, a political group dedicated to putting women in office.
Cupertino resident and political advocate Rhoda Fry, who’s lived in the city for more than 40 years and supports Ahrens, said she’s known about the incident for years. She said she met Sreekrishnan years ago when they were both involved in an environmental group that discussed the future of the Lehigh Cement Plant. Fry said she wasn’t impressed with Sreekrishnan’s efforts then, but said her support for Ahrens stands on its own.
“I just don’t think she’s fit for office,” she told San José Spotlight.
Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.