Afghan-American woman running for Congress in California

Aisha Wahab, an Afghan-American muslim woman, is running for Congress in California, district 15.

In 2018, Wahab was elected to Hayward City Council, making her the first Afghan-American woman elected to office in the U.S.

According to Wahab’s website:

Aisha Wahab is a community leader committed to ensuring equal access to opportunity. She was the first Afghan-American woman to be elected to public office in the United States after receiving the highest number of votes to become a member of the Hayward City Council. She has served as an advocate for seniors, immigrant communities and women. Her leadership in the nonprofit and international relations community includes addressing issues such as affordable housing, civic engagement, education and access to opportunity. Her professional experience as a businesswoman in the tech industry includes overseeing contracts with many technology companies including Amazon, Adobe, and Microsoft.

Wahab served as an Organizer and Speaker at the Women’s March
San Jose.

Some political experts are comparing Wahab to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who Wahab met last year. When speaking of AOC, Wahab said:

She champions the issues that really matter to her and her district and I really respect that passion.

According to reports:

On the city council in the last four months, she’s pushed for issues like accelerating a bump in the city’s minimum wage, expanding renter protections and training city police officers to de-escalate confrontations. She’s also ruffled feathers among some of her colleagues in debates over how the council should work.

Wahab argued that she shouldn’t be underestimated even though she’s only been in office a few months.

“I think lived experience holds just as much weight, and currently we need more regular people in Congress,” she said, citing her family’s experience of losing their home and small retail business during the recession, as well as the student loans she still owes.

Wahab says there are three main issues that she wants to focus on, which are, expanding medicare for all, increasing wages and reducing student loan debt.

UPDATE: Aisha Wahab Suspends Campaign For Congress

By Deplorable Kel

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