Minnesota: Democratic party District 62A House candidates include 5 Somali Muslims

Mogadishu has come to America. Source: Minnesota House candidates make their case at District 62A Democratic Party forum – Mshale | Mshale
https://mshale.com/2018/02/01/minnesota-house-candidates-case-district-62a-democratic-party-forum/
Six Democrats who have announced in Minnesota House District 62A met for their first candidate forum in Minneapolis Tuesday night ahead of next week’s February 6 caucuses. The six included four Somali-Americans that have declared for the same seat, a record number in the 22 years that Mshale has covered the state’s African immigrant community. Four of the candidates at the forum were Somali-American and a fifth that was expected and had his nametag already waiting for him, Guhaad Said, was a no show.

District 62A encompasses a large portion of south Minneapolis including the neighborhoods of Powderhorn Park, Ventura Village, Seward, Phillips (Midtown and East), Whittier and Stevens Square (where Minneapolis Institute of Art is located)

Osman Ahmed is a staffer at US Senator Tina Smith’s district office.

Ahmed, born in Somalia, has lived in the district for over ten years and moved to Minnesota from a refugee camp in Kenya at the age of 16 in 2004. His first experience with politics was to work on the re-election of Barack Obama as a senior in high school. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he worked as a field representative for Congressman Keith Ellison and eventually for former Senator Al Franken.

Omar Fateh, a state employee at the Minnesota Department of Revenue said he has the knowledge, vision and experience to serve as the district’s next state representative. He told the forum that public service has been his passion “my whole life.”

Mental health clinician Hodan Hassan told the forum she first moved to the Twin Cities in 1994 and lived in Ventura Village, which is in District 62A until 2004. She said she just moved back to the district a year ago. Ventura Village imbued in her the passion for diverse communities and she got the chance to work with underserved communities.

“Minnesota is the best state for students who are white but at the same time it is number 48 for students of color and that is unacceptable,” Hassan said. “As someone who has worked through these different systems I know how to make the systems work and if elected to this position I want to advocate for universal healthcare with emphasis on preventive care.”

Farhio Khalif rose to prominence when she founded Voice of East African Women in 2012 to advocate for survivors of domestic violence. She was the only candidate on stage to directly acknowledge the heavy Somali presence with a thunderous greeting of “As-Salaam-Alaikum” which translates to “Peace be upon you.”

Farhio Khalif
“In this same room we are tonight I brought Governor Mark Dayton to a forum to talk about islamophobia and hate crimes and he sat here for an hour and a half,” Khalif said. “If we work together and are united we will be stronger together and I will bring you along to do the fighting together.”

Most of these Muslim candidates have videos on Youtube and they don’t hide the fact they are running to represent Somali Muslims.