At the 23rd annual candidates' night dinner of the New Dominion PAC ("The Voice for Arab Americans in Virginia)" last night in Tysons Corner, Fairfax County Board Chair Sharon Bulova strongly endorsed Dr. Babur Lateef for Prince William County Board Chair. Lateef is running against the notorious xenophobe Corey Stewart, who unsurprisingly blew off this important Arab-American event last night.
A few points by Sharon Bulova about Dr. Lateef: 1) He's very impressive and personable, a "really good guy" (I strongly second this - he really is!); 2) He believes very strongly in education; 3) He has been an impressive fundraiser; 4) He will be an "absolutely magnificent chairman" of the PW County Board of Supervisors; 5) He will "represent all of the people, and will celebrate enhance the diversity in Prince William County, and that's something that doesn't happen sufficiently now and will under his chairmanship."
In his remarks, Dr. Lateef noted that Fairfax County is the largest county in Virginia and Prince William County is the second largest, so this is a great endorsement. He gave shoutouts to Del. Mark Sickles, Sen. Toddy Puller and Democratic candidate Jack Dobbyn. Why is he running? He quoted Teddy Roosevelt that "America will be a great place for each of us to live in, if we make it a great place for ALL of us to live in." Today, Lateef pointed out, that isn't the case in PW County. Instead, Corey Stewart pushed through a law that "said if you look illegal the police can stop you and ask for proof of citizenship; this is where the Arizona law started." Lateef added that, in stark contrast, he stands for the values of "equality and tolerance." As a physician, he says his first priority is to "do no harm" (Corey Stewart, of course, has done a great deal of harm). He also pointed out that he's a small business owner, has kids in the public schools, and is a proud Democrat who's not going to "duck and run" when we're attacked. Finally, he spoke movingly about the importance of immigration (of the self-selected "best and the brightest") to America. If all that doesn't get you fired up for Dr. Babur Lateef for Prince William County Board chair, I'm not sure what will. Go Lateef!
P.S. By the way, I'm hearing that there's turmoil in Corey Stewart's campaign, as his campaign manager reportedly quit in dissatisfaction and hasn't been replaced. Heckuva job Corey Stewart!
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