Republican candidate for Congress Ricky Gill speaks at a May, 2011 event. (source: SF Gate)

After months of silence, in an article printed in the Stockton Record, Republican candidate for Congress (for California’s 9th District) Ricky Gill finally openly acknowledges his Sikh background:

» Religion: Gill, who attended St. Anne’s Catholic and Mokelumne River schools before Tokay, is a practicing Sikh. “It is the faith of my fathers,” he said.

With less than a month to go before the election, the timing of this rare public statement by him is interesting. One wonders as to why Ricky Gill finally said the word “Sikh”, after seemingly going out of his way during his entire campaign to date to avoid using the word. Is there some political mileage to be gained now, or was his admission given because he was directly asked?

Also interesting is that Ricky Gill’s public acknowledgement about being a Sikh is qualified by the highlighting of his education at Christian schools.