Shiva Ayyadurai, who sometimes seems to split his time between losing elections and suing people, today sued the Belmont Voice, a non-profit that covers his hometown, for refusing to write about his campaign this year to lose to Ed Markey.
In his pro se complaint, filed in Boston federal court, Ayyadurai said Voice Editor in Chief Jesse Floyd made clear his racism against Brown-skinned Indian immigrants by referring to him in one email message as "Mr. Ayyadurai" instead of by his academic title of "Dr. Ayyadurai" or "Dr. SHIVA" even though Ayyadurai has more MIT degrees than Floyd probably does. Also, if you can imagine, in that same message, Floyd asked him why he's running for the lesser office of "state senate," rather than US Senate.
This conduct stands in stark contrast to the institutional deference and proper titling afforded to major-party white candidates.
The good doctor avers that in August, the Voice promised him coverage after the Sept. 3 primaries, but instead has only written about the other candidates.
All of this adds up to breach of contract, promissory estoppel, violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and unfair and deceptive trade practices under the state consumer-protection law, Dr. Shiva charges.
He is seeking a court order under which a judge would agree to ignore the First Amendment by ordering the Voice to publish "an equal, unedited feature profile of Plaintiff Dr. SHIVA prior to Election Day," publish a "prominent" front-page correction acknowledging the doctor is, in fact, a candidate for US, not state, Senate, send e-mail alerting all of its subscribers to his existence, and "pin the profile and campaign media at top of Defendant's digital front page through Election Day." Oh, and pay him "compensatory damages."
This is his second election-related suit this year. In July, he sued, and not for the first time, Secretary of State Bill Galvin, demanding a judge order Galvin to make every voting machine in the state snap a photo of every ballot. He lost in Suffolk Superior Court, then filed in federal court, where a judge dismissed his request for a preliminary injunction. He appealed, but last week, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit noped out as well.