WHY SHOULD YOU RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE (Monthly event)
Sunday, Dec 13, 2020 – 12:00 to 1:30 PM – EST
Dr. Arjumand Hashmi, Three Times Mayor of Paris, Texas
Puneet Ahluwalia, Contesting for Lt. Governor, State of Virginia
Pious Ali, Councillor, Portland, Oregon
Hosted by the Aliyah Khan and Mike Ghouse
Bio’s of speakers appended below
ZOOM Meeting ID 83 6153 3975 | Passcode 525731
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88361533975?pwd=Tzd4b1YwNjgrbmhRQ29EcWI0WXJCZz09
If you are passionate about seeing an America that values human rights and safeguards everyone’s way of life, then NOW is the right time to make it happen. Depending on your level of interest, you have the option to choose from being a part of the City Council, County, State, and Federal government.
So what does it take on your part?
All you have to have is a desire to serve, the ability to work and lots of love for the people, and respect for truth.
And what can we do for you?
We will bring monthly guests who have taken the courageous step to become public officials such as State Delegates or Senators, US Congressmen or Senators, County Supervisors and Mayors of a Town/City, who are a great inspiring model to learn from and follow. They will share their stories, tips, and resources on reaching out to communities and fundraising.
We will provide you with tests that help determine which political ideology, your thoughts, and values align with. We will also share the popular criteria most politically engaged people look for to decide which candidate to support out of the many in the race for a particular position. We will also help you learn the filing process and the qualifying criteria.
Now a few words about the host organizations:
Virginian Muslim Political Action Committee (VMPAC) is a registered non-partisan Political Action Committee of Muslim Americans living in Virginia. It was formed in May 2005 as a coalition of several preexisting active Virginian PACs. The goal of VMPAC is to raise awareness of various issues, educate the public about the political process, and provide opportunities to stay engaged.
The Center for Pluralism is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to building a cohesive America. Every American should feel secure about their faith, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, or any other distinction. With that mission, we are dedicating our effort to shaping* the future in the religious, political, workplace, and social spheres. Indeed, this work is part of our Political Pluralism.
The best thing you will learn over time is to become a pluralist, i.e., an inclusive person who values human life and can connect with all Americans comfortably. That is how we build one nation for the common good of ALL living in America.
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Dr. Arjumand Hashmi
Three times Mayor of Paris, Texas
https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/a-mayor-of-many-worlds/
Dr. Hashmi, a 53-year-old Republican, took a more circuitous path to become the mayor of Paris than most of his good ol’ boy predecessors. He was born in Karachi, a bustling port city on the Arabian Sea, and raised in Abu Dhabi, where his father, a Pakistani air force officer, served as a defense attaché to the military of the United Arab Emirates. After graduating from the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, Hashmi returned to Karachi to attend Dow Medical College.
After eight years in New England, he relocated for his first job in Tampa, Florida, finding the muggy clime there far more similar to the weather of his youth, and became a civilian liaison to U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. There, he befriended American generals, including Tommy Franks. By the way, it was the same base where General Schwarzkopf came from.
In 2006 the hospital administrator in Tampa tapped Hashmi to revamp the cardiology department at Paris Regional Medical Center. Drawn to Dallas’ sterling public schools, his wife, Rizma, and three school-age sons opted to move into a mansion in Highland Park, one hundred miles from Paris.
Born in Pakistan and raised in Abu Dhabi, the mayor of Paris, Texas, Dr. Arjumand Hashmi, tackles city business in between patient visits and holds the distinction of making the small East Texas city a medical destination for former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.
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Puneet Ahluwalia
Candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia in 2021
www.PuneetforLG.com
Puneet Ahluwalia is President of New World Strategies based in Mclean, Virginia. He specializes in assisting companies and organizations on navigating issues with various US federal and state agencies. He is a strong advocate for religious freedom and minority rights.
Puneet is the Executive Director of the South Asia Minorities Alliance Foundation. He works with the chairman of the organization to highlight concerns of religious and ethnic minorities of South Asia. He works closely with the International Religious Freedom (IRF) roundtable members. He has expertise in coalition building and messaging, combined with a strong background on understating the complexities of international affairs.
From 2011 to 2015, Puneet Ahluwalia was a partner with both Franklin Global Group LLC and with Global Political Solutions LLC, two multi-service government relations and business development firms based in Washington, DC. As an associate with George Allen Strategies, he assisted and advised clients on various economic, financial and energy issues.
Mr. Ahluwalia is the Founder of the Proud American PAC in the state of Virginia. The goal is to elect conservatives to various offices with emphasis on engaging with the large successful growing minorities. He is a candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia in 2021.
Mr. Ahluwalia served on Trump campaign Asia Pacific American Advisory Committee in national campaigns. Additionally, Mr. Ahluwalia was elected State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He served 2 terms as First Vice Chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee. He is on the steering committee of the Northern Virginia Republican Business Forum. He has been active at various levels for over 20 years in the Republican Party.
Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Ahluwalia regularly contribute articles on S Asia issues and on the importance of 1st and 2nd amendments of the US constitution.
Puneet did his Bachelor of Arts from Delhi University. He speaks several S Asian languages and has traveled extensively.
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Pious Ali
Councilperson, City of Portland, Maine. https://www.portlandmaine.gov/1879/Pious-Ali-At-Large
Pious Ali is the first African-born Muslim American to be elected to a public office in Maine, first to the Portland Board of Public Education in 2013, and then to an At-Large Portland City Council seat in 2016, then re-elected in Nov 2019. An assertive, pragmatic, and compassionate leader with a background in community organizing, activism, and civic engagement, Pious works as a Youth and Community Engagement Specialist at the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Empowered program.
Having founded several programs for leadership and civic engagement opportunities for youth, the most recent being the Muskie School’s Civic and Community Engagement Fellowship, he has labored throughout his career to building meaningful dialogue across cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and faith-based communities. Pious has been recognized by his community for the impact of his work many times, most recently with the Gerda Haas Award for Excellent in Human Rights Education and Leadership from the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine and The Watering Can Award from the Maine Initiatives, which honors activists for racial justice and equity in Maine.
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