Southland Pakistani Americans Running for Office
Anaheim, CA: Californians will vote for governor, US Senate, Congress, ballot measures and more in the primary election on June 5, 2018. Many Americans of Pakistani descent are also running for office in this statewide election.
Below are the introductions of three of the Pakistani Americans based in Southern California who are running for office in the upcoming election.
Ali S. Taj: His story is an American story. Taj is proud to be an immigrant and proud of the American values of liberty and justice for all that helped him succeed.
“My career has been in management and finance but I worked my way up from a sales rep for The Good Guys electronics store. I’m a single dad, and my son is a student at Cerritos College,” says Taj.
He has lived in District 32 for over 20 years and has been Councilmember/Mayor of the city since 2013. He is also a statewide board member for the League of California Cities and an executive board member for the Board of Contract Cities and Eco-Rapid Transit.
“I pride myself on getting results. When I joined the Council, Artesia was on the verge of bankruptcy. Today the city is financially healthy, crime is falling and we’re actually investing in services,” proudly claims Taj.
He has also lobbied successfully for an extension to Eco-Rapid Transit and for Artesia Live and Artesia Live 2, which have brought $100m to regenerate the city’s downtown.
Working with California Contract Cities, Taj supported the development of a statewide strategy to tackle homelessness and stood up for the victims of crime by pushing for convicted felons to serve their full terms.
“With your support, I’ll bring the same approach to the 32nd District. I’ll cut waste, invest in the services you rely on and I’ll fight to make sure that you have the honest, transparent and effective government you deserve,” Taj promises.
Ali S. Taj says that "I’m running for State Senate because I believe Americans shouldn’t have to worry about the integrity or competence of their representatives."
Asif Mahmood
Dr Asif Mahmood was raised in a small crowded home at the edge of Kharian, a village in rural Pakistan. Because his elementary school could not afford chairs or desks, most of his classes took place outside on the grass under the trees.
Asif’s father’s dream was to become a doctor, but he was forced to leave school and support his family at a young age. Instead, his dad passed that dream onto his son. Asif worked hard in school and became the first student from his village to score high enough on exams to attend medical school.
After receiving his medical degree from one of Pakistan’s top medical schools in 1987, now Dr Mahmood, came to the United States in 1991 and chose to complete his medical residency at the University of Kentucky. In Lexington, he married his wife, Noshaba, in a traditional Pakistani wedding surrounded by their Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu friends. In 2000, he moved with his family to California, where he has practiced medicine ever since. Dr Mahmood is a pulmonologist and doctor of internal medicine, practicing at a number of hospitals in the Los Angeles area.
Dr Mahmood has based his life’s work on a single principal taught to him by his parents: that helping others is our highest calling.
He has personally treated thousands of underprivileged patients in the last seventeen years: patients in the ER, critical care, inpatients, and as they leave the hospital. He knows their struggles – ranging from insurance coverage issues, prescription drug issues, in and out of network issues, follow up issues, and support beyond medical care. Dr Mahmood has made it a rule in his hospital practice — if a patient doesn’t have insurance, his office won’t ask for payment.
Dr Mahmood resides with his wife and three teenage children in the Los Angeles area. He has played leading roles in philanthropic efforts for non-profit organizations such as UNICEF and East Los Angeles College. He also volunteers at a free clinic in North Hollywood.
Dr Asif Mahmood states that "I commit to you that I will not accept campaign contributions from insurance or pharmaceutical companies. Those businesses are not my constituents — you are. California is the largest insurance market in the country, dealing with hundreds of billions of dollars each year. What Californians need is an Insurance Commissioner who will fight for each of those dollars to go back to Californians in the form of high-quality care, service, and protection."
Omar A. Siddiqui
A trial lawyer, engineer, and a founding partner of Ulwelling Siddiqui LLP, a law firm headquartered in the 48th Congressional District (OC South-Coast Metro area, Costa Mesa, CA), Mr Siddiqui and his high-profile cases have appeared in prominent media circuits including television, radio, and newspapers. A powerful courtroom advocate, Mr Siddiqui is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and has been selected as “Super Lawyer” numerous times, including 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
On the front lines of national defense, Mr Siddiqui serves as an advisor and consultant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on issues of national security and counter-terrorism and was formerly an advisor and community partner with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Mr Siddiqui is presently FBI National Director of Special Projects (CAAA) and was formerly Chairman of the Board of the FBI Los Angeles CAAA. An active member of the FBI InfraGard Alliance, he also serves as an advisor to the Fullerton Police Department on the Police Chief’s Advisory Committee.
For his efforts as the first line of defense in the war on terrorism, Mr Siddiqui has been bestowed with numerous awards. He is a recipient of several Certificates of Congressional Recognition from the US House of Representatives, the California State Assembly, and the Department of Justice and the FBI, including the prestigious FBI Director’s Leadership Award presented by FBI Director James Comey at FBI Headquarters in Washington DC on April 15, 2016. Mr Siddiqui has met President Barack Obama on numerous occasions, including at the White House, and was amiably referred to by the President as “The Lawyer”.
Mr Siddiqui obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University, where he currently serves as a Board Member of the Loyola Law School Board of Directors. Mr Siddiqui also holds Master of Science (MS) and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees in Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC)***. Prior to college, Mr Siddiqui attended Orange County public schools. Mr Siddiqui was born and raised in Southern California.
From simple transactions to complex high-stakes litigation to working with the FBI and the CIA, he is known for his innovative solutions, investigations, and case strategies.
Omar Siddiqui says that "As a lawyer and an engineer, I am a problem solver by nature, and by trade. Driven by an unmitigated pursuit of truth and justice, I have spent the past two decades championing the cause of the innocent, the helpless and the often powerless, in a world where even some of our elected officials try to operate above the law. Running for Congress is my commitment to bringing integrity and honor to the government."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
