Campaign Update

To our 32nd ward community – I want to personally say thank you for the incredible support that you have given this campaign over the last 4 weeks. After internal discussions, we have decided to sunset the campaign today, and not pursue a write-in campaign against the incumbent. Though we accomplished all of the things necessary to get on the ballot, our signatures were successfully challenged by the incumbent at the Board of Elections, due to an administrative error on page numbering.  

We set out to do something incredibly ambitious – to get enough signatures to get on the ballot for the 2024 Primaries, understand the needs of our neighbors at a deeper level, and force those currently in power to recognize that in order for them to stay in-seat, they need to listen to the needs and demands of their constituents. Because of this incredible community, we were able to do just that:

• We out-organized those currently in power and did in 15 days what they couldn’t over 3 months – get not just the 922 signatures needed to get on the ballot, but more than 2,000 signatures from our neighbors.

• We heard from our neighbors and continued to build a joint vision for a more inclusive ward – one that supports the needs of each of us – whether that’s thinking differently about public safety than the same old way that we’ve had for the last 30 years, or demanding greater support for the elderly in our community whose housing costs have risen to a point of displacement, or ensuring we have public mental health centers for our residents and housing resources for those that are houseless, or having electeds that truly listens to us and operate through a model of co-governance.

• We pushed our current elected to participate in a write-in ballot for the Primary in March because he wasn’t able to get enough signatures to get on the ballot (nor the individual he endorsed).

• We pressured, alongside leading groups in the ward, our current elected to change his votes to be in-line with the people he represents – most recently shifting his vote to vote against the FOP arbitration vote in City Council, and voting against removing the status of Chicago as a sanctuary city.

We proved that People power is strong, and that if we organize, we’ll continue to build strength for a more inclusive and representative 32nd ward – one that works to support the needs of all of its residents. And while we were not able to make the ballot this time, because of our city’s high barrier to access to making the ballot through a simple technicality, we look forward to continuing to push for more just and inclusive leadership in our Ward.

I want to say thank you to each of you that engaged with the campaign – whether just sending positive thoughts from afar, canvassing, having conversations with your neighbors, opening your door to our team – it’s given me such hope and excitement for the kind of ward and community that we’ll continue to grow.

Statement in Response to Canary Mission Claims

I was recently filmed removing a poster from a New York City pole. This video, and my actions depicted in it, have hurt and confused some people based on the rhetoric and disinformation with which it was shared. To those people, I want to offer context – not to excuse the impact of my actions, but to help you understand my intent. To be expressly clear, I deeply hope that all of those held captive by both Hamas and the state of Israel are safely returned home immediately. 

• The top half of the poster (not visible in the video) showed a picture of a middle-aged man kidnapped by Hamas.

• Under his picture was large text with claims about Palestinians that were racist and vitriolic – language that has been used to justify acts of violence (a pattern, and a practice that we’ve seen used to justify violence against Black folks, Latine folks, Jewish folks, Muslim folks, from the Jim Crow south to Apartheid South Africa to Nazi Germany to the Rwandan Genocide). I felt the language was dehumanizing and dangerous, and was compelled to remove the dissemination of language that would, as historically proven, justify a cycle of violence.

• As I was removing this poster with disinformation, some people came out of a nearby building, and began to aggressively yell at myself and the other individual, using transphobic and homophobic slurs, with attempts to physically intimidate us - all of which was the catalyst for the retort from the other individual on the video. At that moment, they started recording us on their phones.

• After removing the poster, I walked away.

The video was initially posted and shared by accounts that have a history of doxxing pro-Palestinian voices. Reactions and comments to the video have demanded my deportation (I was born in Wisconsin), called for my death, and jeopardized the safety of my family and loved ones. As a Muslim-American man who grew up in a post-9/11 US, this type of rhetoric and faith-based hatred is unfortunately familiar.

Palestinian-Americans and those that support Palestinian freedom, people who have publicly spoken out against Israeli attacks, and anti-war activists –all of which are not the same thing as being antisemitic– are currently experiencing extreme levels of retaliation, violence, and intimidation. Undocumented student activists are having their personal information broadcast far and wide. Three Palestinian students have been shot while wearing their keffiyehs and speaking Arabic. A six-year-old Palestinian boy was stabbed to death in our own backyard of Plainview, Illinois. 

During this rise of Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate, I want to also acknowledge and condemn the fact that we’ve also seen a rise in antisemitic hate. It’s no coincidence that antisemitism and Islamophobia are both rising concurrently, as we know they are both rooted in xenophobia and racism. But also the pain that we feel from these, that some of you felt when seeing the rhetoric about me – they also have commonalities. That pain can be weaponized by some to divide us. However, I deeply believe that that pain can be the strongest bridge to allow us to come together to build a more democratic and equitable world that we all deserve to live in.

I remain steadfast in my belief that antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression must be rejected, fought, and overcome—and that the only way to do this is by encouraging serious discourse over real information. To do this in an age of unprecedented access to all types of information – correct or incorrect, it is important now, more than ever, to ensure that we continue to fight disinformation, especially that which incites violence.

We must not let doxxing and the threats of violence and retaliation stifle serious discussion about how best to advance peace, justice, and democracy at home and around the world.

Why I’m Running for 32nd Ward Committeeperson

We need change.  For too long in this city, these role appointments have been made behind closed doors, through opaque processes, and to people that were politically expedient. That needs to change for us to have an operating democracy, and it is my commitment to our community to bring transparency and participation into this process. Whether it’s at the state, county, or city level – we need to ensure that the individuals in these seats are committed to democracy, and building a democratic process that represents the people, our community – not money or family ties. I have a deep belief in the democratic process, and believe that when appointing individuals into previously elected roles, we need to ensure that their constituents have a voice in helping drive that decision.

We need electeds that believe change is possible. I have seen discussion, debate, and participation drive to better answers. I know that change is possible when neighbors come together. That’s what makes Democracy work, and I’m excited to continue to build that practice in this ward.

We need our elected representatives, like Ishan Daya, that are committed to turning that belief of change into reality.

Chicago must build bridges between people and policy to save our Democracy

Chicago has a deep history of an opaque political process, steeped in ‘the machine’, in an effort to have our resources and our legislation serve the few, rather than serving the people. Overtime, this has led to increasing wealth and opportunity disparity, decreasing trust in infrastructure, a feeling of disenfranchisement by the people of this city, and ultimately, a disinvestment in the political process — our Democracy. 

Over the last decade, we’ve started to see a shift – where our neighbors who have a deep belief in transparency, and participation in our democratic process, have come into our municipal, county, state, and federal seats. Even then, we’ve continued to see levels of disengagement from our elected officials to actually engage with our community on our needs, and the impact of legislation on our neighborhoods, our friends and family, and our city at large.

In order for Democracy to work, we need to have a clear, transparent, method for our people to understand the legislation that is being pushed (or in the case of Committeeperson, the roles that need appointment), with a real ability for our elected officials to hear our feedback, iterate on the legislation, and ensure that it is representative.

Without that element of co-governance, we continue to create divides within this city, rather than bridges between people and policy. Our 32nd ward community has always been deeply engaged in the electoral process – with some of the highest voter turnout in the city – there’s no reason legislation and appointment processes should be made in a backroom for our people to suffer the consequences.

I’m running to be able to fight for transparency, preserve the sanctity of our elections, engage in a participatory process, and ultimately, build a bridge between our levels of government, and our community.

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Whatever your personal policies may be, if you believe in driving a democratic, participatory process, join me in changing the way we’re represented in the 32nd ward. Everyone, whether you are in Roscoe Village or Bucktown, Lincoln Park or Lakeview, Wrightwood Neighbors or Wicker Park, you will have a bridge to the Democratic process with me as your committeeperson.

What on earth is a committeeperson?

The role of committeeperson (FKA committeeman pre-2019) has evolved materially since the time of Mayor Daley. In today’s landscape, the role of committeeperson has two main responsibilities:

1. Appointing individuals to fill elected role vacancies (more on the recent appointment made by our current 32nd ward Committeeperson in the next post) through a transparent, community-based process.

2. Being the liaison between the Democratic party and the ward – helping communicate the priorities of our neighbors and ensuring that they are heard at the party level, to shape the party platform.

This role is an unpaid role that does not hold formal policy responsibilities.

The committeperson has the ability to join committees within the democratic party to help shape the platform. In the 32nd, our current committeeperson, Scott Waguespack, is not a part of any of the committees to help shape policy and platform, nor has he engaged in a transparent, community-based process for appointments. 

My hope is that, as committeeperson for this ward, I can engage with our community on the things that are most pressing for us and the greater city, and bring that to the party to help drive party-level change, as well as build a transparent, and community-based process for appointments.

As an individual and as a leader, there are truths that I believe we need to hold when we engage in electoral politics: an expectation that our candidates and elected officials hold our Democratic values close – from improving economic opportunity for our neighbors across the city, expanding access to healthcare and mental healthcare, ensuring the security of reproductive rights, improving our critical infrastructure - both transportation and utilities, investing in secure and affordable housing for all residents, ensuring that our elderly have high quality care and accommodations, and ensuring that every child has access to the best public education.

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If you believe in these values, and believe that our appointment process should be one that is democratic and participatory, then join me in helping change the way we’re represented here in the 32nd!