Saqib Ali (born January 21, 1975) is a former State Delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates, having been elected in 2006 to represent the 39th District. Ali is an American of Indian and Pakistani descent.
Background
Saqib Ali was born on 21 January 1975 in Chicago, Illinois. He is Muslim and credits his parents, who are of Indian and Pakistani descent, as the reason he became involved in politics. "[I am] from a family where they were always having political debates around the house, but then I found out that among all these family members who had all these grand ideas, none of them ever voted. There was a sense that, 'I don't like the way things are, but there's nothing I can do about it.' I thought: I'm going to show these people."
Ali moved to Montgomery County, Maryland in 1991 to attend the University of Maryland, College Park. He went on to receive Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Computer Science.
Democratic volunteer and community activist
Ali was not originally a member of the Democratic party but changed parties after listening to Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Ali was "so enamored of Van Hollen's foreign policy positions that he changed his party affiliation from Green to Democratic." Ali soon became "the first elected President of the District 39 Democratic Club". Ali's political activity first gained media attention when he "was the Legislative District 39 Coordinator for the Howard Dean presidential campaign in 2003 and early 2004." After Dean failed to win the primary, Ali supported the John Kerry and John Edwards presidential ticket. During that election season, Ali became a full-time campaign volunteer for Rep. Chris Van Hollen, because of Van Hollen's foreign policy positions and his stance on the Iraq War. During Van Hollen's 2004 reelection campaign, Ali said "I'm really motivated against this war and have never felt so animated before. I thought, 'What is the most head-turning thing I could possibly do?'" and he "bought 500 bumper stickers at a buck apiece and applied more than 400 to the car". It was noted that the family's other car was kept "very pristine" as "That's the one his wife drives." Later that year he was co-chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Spring Ball. Also in 2004, Ali, a member of the Montgomery County Muslim Council, helped plan "the first Muslim-Jewish Day of Friendship" with "congregations Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, Adat Shalom in Bethesda, Bethesda Jewish Congregation and Fabrangen Cheder" to "clean up a historic Underground Railroad stop in Germantown". Ali hoped the event would "allow people to start lasting friendships and show the ability of these groups to come together for a common good." In 2005, Ali's political activities expanded when he helped form the "Longdraft Road Coalition", an organization opposing the expansion of this "quiet, residential two-lane road to a bustling four-lane byway." Ali became "co-chairman of the 180-person plus group" whose efforts were largely viewed as successful. In September 2005, Ali also co-organized "The 2nd annual Montgomery County Muslim-Jewish Day of Friendship". In 2005, Ali was a campaign supporter of Jun Choi, the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Edison, New Jersey, which Choi won.
2006 election campaign
On October 1, 2005, Ali announced his candidacy for inclusion on the three-person Democratic slate for "Legislative District 39 which includes Montgomery Village, Washington Grove and parts of Gaithersburg, Derwood, Germantown and North Potomac." Members of the Maryland General Assembly have four-year terms.
MCEA endorsement
On January 30, 2006, candidate Ali "accompanied a Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) contingent to Annapolis to lobby legislators to improve the state's... teacher pension system." By June 2006, MCEA had given Ali its "much sought-after endorsement" which "has always carried considerable weight in the minds of county voters. The Apple Ballot lists the recommended candidates that support public education and 11,000 educators. This ballot is an indication of politicians that support public schools and their employees."