Pakistani Muslim immigrant part of a trend of progressives running for office in California

The 2016 election of Donald Trump was a turning point for Fauzia Rizvi. When the former president proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, the Pakistani immigrant living in southern California felt compelled to take her civic engagement to a higher level.

Two years later, she decided to run for public office. In her first conversation with a consultant she had hired, she was told she wouldn't be able to win because of the way she looked, meaning her wearing of a hijab. 

"After that, I realised, I'm going to do it. I'm going to push the boundaries," she tells The New Arab. "It was a bit of naivete deciding to run. I did not make it."

With a background in water engineering, she ended up talking a lot about water during her campaign, an issue she believes will be increasingly relevant in the future. Someone suggested she run for the board at Western Municipal Water District, a position she currently holds.

What gave her some of her most important experience in community organising was with the outbreak of Covid-19. 

Her friend, an oncologist, asked her to sew masks for chemotherapy patients, back when personal protective equipment was in short supply. She and other volunteers made 20,000 hand-sewn masks to patients as well as essential workers. They made special masks for police and firefighters to match their uniforms for the city of Corona. 

In the process of helping with the pandemic, she learned that there was food insecurity in her community. She and her friends started organising food drives at City Hall, which at the time was closed due to the pandemic. 

"I wanted to make sure our communities were safe and fed," she says. "This is our time to show our values our faith has taught us and to make sure our neighbours don't go hungry."

Now, on her third attempt, she is running for State Assembly in a completely redrawn district with no incumbent and with the support of Sabrina Cervantes, the official who previously represented part of the same district. Her Republican opponent, Bill Essayli, the son of Lebanese immigrants, is also Muslim, a rare match-up in US politics.

Thanks to redistricting, the 63rd Assembly District in western Riverside County will have a new look. Bill Essayli and Fauzia Rizvi are competing to represent the area’s nearly half-million residents in Sacramento.#Vote2022 🗳️ #Election2022 https://t.co/IIOkZi4Jr4

— The Press-Enterprise (@pressenterprise) October 26, 2022

As someone who relocated from another part of southern California to run for office in District 63, questions have arisen over his legal residency. According to a local news report dated 27 October, he is still not registered to vote in the district where he's running, which in effect would mean that he would not be able to vote for himself. 

As the only Democrat in the race, Rizvi has received endorsements from the state's top politicians and party associations, including Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Alex Padilla, the California Democratic Party, and the state's major unions.

But with a new district that is considered "plus three Republican" she has her work cut out for her to convince swing voters that she's the best choice. Though she was the top vote-getter in the primary, polls tend to tighten in the general election. In addition, midterms tend to attract less voters than presidential election years, so turnout will be a big factor in the election's outcome.

Recently, she says, she was door knocking, and she ended up at a Republican's front door, but that didn't stop her from making her campaign pitch.

"I said, 'Listen, this is who I am. I'm running for State Assembly. I have expertise in water.' He asked me where I was from. He said he'd been watching the news and he asked about my family. We talked about climate change. We had a good conversation for about 10 minutes," she says.

"He said, 'You have an amazing story.' He said he'd never voted Democrat. He said, 'It would be an honour to vote for you.' It was such a heartwarming conversation. Even though it's a big political shift, so many community members want good people. I want to take that and say that not everyone is divided. If good people don't fight, then bad people win," she says.

She also wants this race to be an example for young Muslim girls to see running for public office as a possibility for their future.

"I think it's time. I see a lot more Muslims getting into this space. I want to open the door for the next generation of Muslims," she says. "I want to make sure we make it OK for young girls wearing a hijab to be OK in this space, so they can walk right into it."