Thank you for taking the time to visit my website and find out a bit more about me. I have often noted on my campaign that the Democratic Party was making a choice on the Presidential level between someone who has experience serving New Yorkers well, and someone who is a fresh face, with some new ideas... and a funny sounding name. The good news for voters, is that with me in this Congressional campaign, we can have it all!
As some of you may have known by my name, I am Iranian-American. My father came here almost 50 years ago to make a life for himself and our family in our great nation, a choice for which I am eternally grateful. I have been deeply touched at the enthusiasm my candidacy has created for other Iranian-Americans excited to see a bit of their own American promise fulfilled through my candidacy. I know that many Iranian-Americans, including myself, have sometimes felt it necessary to downplay our heritage... but in this day and age, there is no need to do so, if there ever was.
I am proud to be a first-generation American. I often joke that my parents were born in different countries; my father in Iran and my mother in Brooklyn. Growing up in Upstate New York, my parents instilled in me the values of responsibility, compassion and community. While I knew that my heritage was a bit different from my friends and classmates, I never thought too much about it as a child.
But in 1978, things changed for my family and for everyone. My family traveled to Iran for a visit, and during our trip, the Iranian Revolution began. The Shah declared martial law and we were nearly prohibited from leaving. A few months later, the hostage crisis in Iran arose, and things turned more difficult for me at school. I was surprised to find myself the subject of taunts and name calling from some students. This experience taught me about what it is truly like to be viewed as an outsider, and this is an experience that shaped my outlook in life to always look out for others.
Eventually I went off to college and law school, married my wonderful wife Noelle, and settled in Albany, NY where we live with our son. I had always taken for granted why my family was living in America, and why my family left to move to America rather than stay in their homeland. But a few years ago, as I became more involved in politics, I asked my father a question that I had never asked him before – which was what America meant to him. He said it meant freedom, opportunity and hope for a better life. It struck me that this was the American promise – to us as citizens and to the rest of the world.
Today, I am running for Congress to Renew America’s Promise. This is a critical time that we, as a nation and as a people, face, and we have an enormous opportunity to get our country back on the right path. Right now, we can bring about real change and a new generation of leadership to down to Washington D.C. As an Iranian-American, an experienced public and private sector attorney and Congressional aide, I will be a fresh, new voice in Congress.
All Americans sincerely want our next President and our government to work together to achieve the goals for Iran that we all share. And all Iranian-Americans also want to see an American foreign policy that moves Iran away from nuclear capability, away from dictatorship and away from hostilities. We all want to see a free and democratic Iran that does not threaten its neighbors or hold its people back.
Sadly, for decades this has not been the case, and both Iran and America have suffered for it. On September 12, 2001, students took to the streets of Tehran... in support of America. This fact coupled with Iran’s assistance in the invasion of Afghanistan led many to be hopeful that relations between our nation and Iran had thawed. Sadly, Administration bungling squandered this opportunity to create a constructive relationship, and the Ahmadinejad government is now stronger than ever.
Even though no Iranian-American is proud of the Iranian government, what I have found on this campaign is how many are so very proud of our heritage. I also found what I already knew: That no group loves America more than Iranian-Americans because we know what our families left behind. My father came here to this country in search of a better life. And, from my family, I know what America promise means to people around our globe. For centuries, we were the nation of freedom. We’ve stood as the nation of opportunity... of hope for a better, brighter tomorrow. And I am running for Congress to Renew that Promise - America’s Promise – to our citizens and the rest of the world.
