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Michigan May Soon Be Electing Its First Muslim Governor

Will the United States have its first Muslim Governor? In Michigan, that seems to be the possibility. His name is Abdul El-Sayed and he seems to be the progressive power we need in a Republican-controlled nation. Born to Egyptian immigrants in the Metro-Detroit area, Abdul is the embodiment of what the “American Dream” is supposed to represent. He attended Bloomfield Hills Andover High School and graduated from the University of Michigan, where he delivered the student commencement speech alongside Former President Bill Clinton. Abdul went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, earn a doctorate from Oxford University and a medical degree from Columbia University. As a public health professor, Abdul became recognized internationally as an expert in health policy and inequalities.

Abdul has been serving as the Executive Director and Health Officer of the Detroit Health Department since being appointed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in 2015 at age 30, which makes him the youngest health commissioner of any major U.S city.  In his first year as director, El-Sayed spearheaded efforts to oppose increases in sulfur dioxide emissions by the Marathon Petroleum Refinery located in Detroit, Michigan. This not only led to an overall decrease in emissions, but to other efforts to reduce toxic emissions from other Detroit-area companies. With Abdul’s governance, the Detroit Health Department has become a state and national leader in public health innovation and environmental justice, in one of the fastest public health turnarounds in United States history.

On the issues, Abdul is the ideal progressive candidate in many aspects. In terms of health, he supports universal healthcare and strengthening the public health system in Michigan, which is greatly underfunded . He supports a woman’s right to choose, which is not only a strong stance on a divisive health issue but a social one as well. In addition to this, Abdul has the expertise to give the Michigan public health system the overhaul it needs in the response to the ongoing water crisis in Flint and the rising opioid epidemic. On the stance of education, Abdul is calling on a revamp of Michigan’s public education system putting our children’s futures back in the hands of families, educators, and communities, rather than private interests. Pertaining to government transparency, he openly opposes gerrymandering by either party and support bipartisan redistricting. He is also pushing to subject the governor and senate to The Freedom of Information Act, which forces the government to release documents related to their day-to-day work.

I, as well as many Michigan residents, feel the state needs to take a step in a new direction and I believe Abdul El-Sayed is the best candidate to lead us in that direction. If we don’t take the chance now, who knows when the next one will come around. Now is the time for politics with a purpose, so let us strike while the iron is hot.

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