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Pakistan Link – September 27, 2002 Simulated Election Debate for Congressional Candidates Newark, CA: The American Muslim Alliance Bay Area held a simulated election debate on September 7 at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark. Candidates participating in the special event included: Mr. Syed Mahmood, Republican congressional candidate - District 13; Mr. Maad Abu-Ghazalah, Libertarian congressional candidate - District 12, and Ms. Uzma Almakky, candidate for Fremont Unified School District Board. The simulated debate had a triple format: Lincolon-Douglas, Interview and Town Hall. The panel of interviewers included: Prof. Lissete Poole, Ms. Maliha Khalid, Ms. Sadia Mohsin, Ms. Mariam Saeed, Ms. Alina Din, and others. Dr. Agha Saeed, chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, moderated the simulated debate. After brief introductions question and answer session began. Mr. Syed Mahmood told the audience that his candidacy was aimed at promoting reconciliation between communities of America. “I strongly believe in advancing the cause of understanding, peace and tolerance among all American political and religious groups whether they are Republicans, Democrats, or independents, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and people of other faiths.” He added, “I want to bring communities together.” Mr. Syed Mahmood said he was against racial profiling. “If a search is in a fair manner for security reasons, it is ok but not because I have a Muslim name. My candidacy is against racial profiling if it is against certain people.” Ms. Pauline Weaver, Candidate Fremont City Council, said the Patriot Act has taken away constitutional protection of peoples’ rights. To combat terrorism, you should not take away basic constitutional rights, she argued. The Patriot Act is an important issue, it is, in fact, one of the devastating things that happened to us. “We remember the internment of Japanese. This is a shameful part of our history.” Mr. Maad Abu Ghazalah said he was running for Congress because he wants to ensure that the values and freedoms “our founders fought so hard to garner are not casually discarded.” He added that even after the 9/11 tragedy our government must remain true to its founding principles by not judging people by the way they look nor the religion they choose to practice. Mr. Robert Wieckowski, attorney and political activist, said he was also concerned about the Patriot Act. However, on the issue of big government, he said that it is not the only problem. “There are other issues, e.g. healthcare is a big problem. People cannot buy medicines. Tax system is another issue. Tax should be progressive, millionaires should have higher tax.” Mr. Abu Ghazalah interjected to say he agrees that there should be tax reform as the present system favors the wealthy people. Ms. Uzma Almakky, candidate for Fremont Unified School District Board, pointed out that the Fremont District education budget is $200 million and the city receives less dollars of the city budget in comparison with other cities. She will work to get more money for education. She said parents should be paid well. She said teachers should be given more facilities, like affordable housing. As for educational reforms, Ms. Almakky said that safety of children was her top priority. “Children should be productive. There should be more communication between parents, school boards and schools.” Mr. Alberto Torrico, attorney and political activist, said many teachers are moving out of Fremont, therefore, they should be given more money to stay on in the city. He said the primary responsibility of raising children rests with parents and not schools. “There is a trend to shift the responsibility to schools. Teachers should be accountable for the progress of students but parents should also be accountable for that.” He said we spend more money on prisons than education. “There are more blacks in prison than blacks in colleges. The same is true for Latinos.” On teachers’ unions, Mr. Torrico said that unions play an important role. “If there were no unions, the teachers were working more hours. The unions play an effective role in preserving employment.” On the issue of ethnic diversity in Fremont District, Mr. Torrico said that students and parents do not fully understand the problems because of their diverse background. Therefore, he added, there should be interpreters for parent-teachers meetings. Mr. Henry Yin, a candidate for Fremont City Council, was introduced to the audience. In his brief speech, Mr. Yin said that he is working for a better working environment, affordable housing and better pay for teachers. At the end, Mr. Samina Faheem, AMA National Coordinator, thanked the candidates and the audience for participating in the simulated debate. (By Abdus Sattar Ghazali) |