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Catching Election Fever
AAI
Posted on Tuesday February 12, 2008
Election fever is sweeping the country, with record voter turnout in states across the country and new faces getting involved in campaigns. Arab Americans have been caught up in the campaign frenzy, working and volunteering for candidates in both parties in several Super Tuesday contests.
In New Jersey, AAI National Policy Council (NPC) member Samer Khalaf served as one of the Passaic County Co-chairs for Senator Barack Obama’s campaign, organizing Obama’s entire volunteer contingent in the county. Khalaf and Andre Sayegh, president of the Paterson School Board, ran phone banks and lobbied elected officials to endorse the senator. Khalaf and Sayegh also both led door to door operations to encourage Arab Americans to vote for Obama and distributed flyers in Arabic about Obama.
Rammi Eid, a member of New Jersey Young Lawyers for Obama, also played a key role in the campaign, serving on its legal team in the state. Eid was a coordinator for legal protection for the campaign, working to ensure voter rights and dealing with issues of voter suppression.
On the other side of the aisle, Arab American blogger and AAI NPC member George Ajjan (The Aleppine Elephant) drummed up support for Congressman Ron Paul amongst Arab Americans and others in the Garden State. Ajjan encouraged Arab Americans to get out and vote, phone banked, and blogged extensively on why Paul was the best candidate for Arab American Republicans.
New York also saw feverish volunteer efforts for both Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton in her home state. AAI member Jennifer Faucher has been a dedicated Clinton volunteer. Faucher has been working with the New York City Central Labor Council, which has endorsed Clinton, and through the operation of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, another Clinton supporter. She worked on voter registration early on the campaign and shifted to phone banking and door to door canvassing as Super Tuesday approached. She is also filing to become an at-large delegate for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.
Hani Khalil served as a community and volunteer coordinator for the Obama campaign. He coordinated thousands of calls to Arab American voters in some of New York’s heavily Arab American congressional districts. New Yorkers Linda Sarsour and Maher Abdelkader were also volunteered for Obama, helping to distribute campaign literature and doing vital work on the ground.
Got your own campaign stories?
Let us know! You can send your stories to AAI National Field and Political Coordinator Maram Abdelhamid. She can be reached by telephone at (202) 429-9210, ext. 13.
