Here are a few things you should know about me as candidate running to represent Virginia’s 8th Congressional District:
- I will never be able to match the fundraising prowess of my opponents, especially that of incumbent Donald Beyer who inherited a fortune from his dad and whose net worth is north of $124,000,000
- I will not be able to flood the district with commercials, billboards and yard signs like the Democrat and Republican candidates
- I do not have a staff to speak of, outside of my sisters and a couple of close friends who are helping where they can, I am currently a campaign of one
- I do not enjoy the backing of Wall Street corporations, lobbyists and special interests nor do I have a political machine behind me
- Mainstream media—determined to keep America polarized and perpetually divided—have zero interest in covering my campaign because I refuse to play into the “us vs them” divides that profits the establishment
- I will not be outworked, I collected 1,512 signatures on my own and I will work assiduously between now and November 8th to earn the support and votes of constituents in Alexandria, Arlington and South Fairfax
Everything I enumerated above, save for the last point, usually means that a candidate running for national office has about as much chance to win in November as a sumo wrestler beating Usain Bolt in the hundred-yard dash. If this was any other year, I am sure I would have even ran for Congress because I know how our political system is rigged against authentic independents and people who are not political insiders.
However, I believe that we are at an inflection point in our country’s history. After decades of being hoodwinked by both political parties to vote against our economic interests, the marginalized super-majority of Americans are rejecting the status quo and yearning for something else beyond career politicians and false-hope peddlers to represent us in Congress. A growing number now realize, more than ever, that going back and forth between Democrats and Republicans is like exiting a plantation to enter a jail cell.
This is precisely why I am running for Congress as an independent and refusing to take a red cent from corporations. I have the core competencies needed to succeed in the US Capitol; after spending more than two decades consulting local, state and federal agencies and supporting DoD agencies where I have been commended copious times for delivering innovative solutions and praised by leadership for building enduring relationships with my clients, voters can rest assured that I will be ready on day one to navigate the labyrinth that is DC.
Beyond the knowhow that I bring to the table, I believe the one intangible that I possess which will serve my constituents best in the House of Representatives is empathy twinned with lived experiences of hardship that is sorely lacking in our nation’s capital. Clearly, millionaires working for billionaires is not working for us; expecting a bunch of highly paid professionals who are utterly disconnected from our daily struggles is the reason why the American dream has been replaced with the American hustle for workers and small businesses and has morphed into the American nightmare for too many.
Bill Clinton once said “I feel your pain” only to go on and exacerbate it by enacting policies that pulverized small businesses, decimated the middle-class, kneecapped the working-class and metastasized poverty. Both parties engage in this level of gaslighting as they pay lip service to issues that we care about while giving the house away, literally, to multinational corporations and their billionaire owners. High gas prices and the skyrocketing cost of food are not byproducts of Putin nor Covid-19, they are manifestations of more than 14 years of catering to Wall Street while cratering the rest of us.
BlackRock, Amazon, Walmart and their ilk currently have 535 members of Congress and a President in their back pockets, it is time that one of us—workers and small business owners—to finally actually have a seat at the table. That is why I chose to run for Congress, as a working father of a three-year-old who is holding down two jobs to make ends meet, I don’t have to “feel your pain”, I live your reality on a daily basis.
While I am determined to work unyieldingly to earn your support and vote, I can only do so much on my own. If my campaign has any hope of succeeding, it will be because people who are fed up with the corrosive swamp in DC are captivated by my message of economic empowerment for all and unity that transcends our differences. If you believe that it is time for authentic change and that true representation requires someone who resembles your experiences, I am asking you to take ownership of this campaign and amplify our message.
Bobby Kennedy once said that change starts with a tiny ripple, the impossible can become reality when we pair vision with effort. Over the coming months, I ask you to pay attention to the issues that highlight, the campaign platforms that I continue to articulate and my overall message of inclusive justice. The video below is of an interview I took part in this past weekend, it will give you a better insight into my social and political outlooks. If you believe my voice will give voice to your hopes and struggles, I ask you to support my campaign and to vote for me come November.
If you want to volunteer for Fikre4VA and take part in our campaign, email us [email protected] with the subject header “My Love Champion”. It’s time to unite in order to #HealAmericaTogether