Gun Control, Reproductive Rights Priorities Of VA Senate Candidate Salim

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Saddam Azlan Salim, a Falls Church resident who works in public and nonprofit finance, took a big step on Tuesday, when he announced that he was a candidate for the Virginia Senate in the 37th District. He'll be running in the June 20 Democratic Party Primary against Sen. Chap Petersen.

An attorney and resident of Fairfax City, Petersen has served 22 years in the Virginia General Assembly and currently represents the 34th District in the Senate.

With the redrawn Senate district lines going into effect this year, both men will be running in the 37th District, which includes Fairfax City, as well as all or parts of Vienna, Dunn Loring, Merrifield, Oakton, Fair Oaks, Tysons, and Falls Church.

A child of immigrants, Salim grew up in the Tysons area and, in recent years, has become active in the local Democratic Party.

Related: Saddam Azlan Salim To Challenge Chap Petersen In June 20 Primary

Following his announcement on Tuesday, Salim participated in a phone interview with Patch and answered a few questions about himself and why he decided to challenge Petersen in the upcoming primary.

What made you decide that you wanted to run for the Virginia State Senate?

It was really the last couple of years. When we saw the toll it took on families and people in general during the pandemic and how [Petersen] stood against a lot of the Democratic policies. When it came to public safety, when it came to reopening the schools, none of his policies matched with what the constituents wanted. When it came to simply providing public safety by banning assault weapons, he was on the other side. There comes a point when we have to ask ourselves, "Are we doing enough?" We can't just sit on the sidelines and complain, "When are we going to do more?" This is the time where I'm going to step it up and actually do more.

That's how I see this as somebody who's young, somebody who's going to come out, somebody who's a progressive Democrat, who's going to value the Democratic values when it comes to public safety, when it comes to affordable housing, and when it comes to access to reproductive rights.

I have a niece that was just born last fall. And I look at my sister, my niece, mom, it's to a point where their rights are being taken away and no one else is doing anything about it and they don't know those rights are being taken away. So, that's where I have to come in and say, "I've got to protect them." We have to protect other people in the community who may not have that voice. That's one reason I wanted to run.

Tell me a little about your background in public administration and you've been an activist in Democratic politics.

So, especially in public and nonprofit finance, I worked for a couple of accounting firms, started at a credit union, and then ended up as a budget analyst for the U.S. Institute of Peace, where they do a lot of peace work and in terms of providing democratic values across the world.

Currently, I work for 11th Hour Service, which is actually in the district. We provide financial consulting services to federal clients across DoD, Treasury, Navy, and a couple other agencies as well. My background is especially in public and nonprofit finance from the administrative point of view, and making sure we work with different partners, different places to ensure we meet a common goal.

Over the last four or five years, I have gotten more involved from being co-district chair of the Providence District Democratic Committee, to the vice chair of finance for the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. Along the way, I got involved in the community as co-state director for Virginia of the South Asians for America and got involved with the Democratic Asian Americans as well.

I have learned during COVID and prior to get the South Asian community actively involved, somebody has to lead and come out there to talk to them about how the process works. Having gone to those places and having talked to a lot of folks, they feel the need that their voices are being heard and this is an opportunity to showcase that community.

Someone like me, that came from that community, that essentially came to America as a 10-year-old boy, became homeless, and then found a way back through democratic policies and services that helped uplift me and my family. It's time for me to give that back to those that aslo need it.

Chap Petersen has been around for a while in Fairfax County, representing Fairfax City, Vienna and the Oakton area. Is there anything in particular you would say to that community who one would think would be very supportive of him?

The district has changed significantly. We're 57 percent new. To that community, Chap really hasn't always watched out for our best interest. It was always his personal interest or something else, but it was never about the interest of the constituents. And to those constituents, I want to tell them, "Here's where I stand. Here's where he stands." It's up to them to decide who they want to be representative in Richmond. That's why I think it's important to draw the differences to showcase why Democratic progressive values are better for the new district.

What about what about the more bread and butter issues, things like taxes and transportation? How would you address those in at the state level?

Our big issue is that the Metro bus services are no longer the same as they used to be 10 years ago. We've started looking at alternative ways to fund local transportation, the Fairfax Connector, the Arlington bus system. ... We need to look at alternative ways to invest in public transportation, making sure Fairfax Connectors are funded well.

What do you think is the number one thing that differentiates you from Chap Peterson?

The number one thing is really gun control. As a young person, I'd been told since I was 10-years-old that school was the safest place. Right now, the thing that's putting children, teachers and staff at schools in danger are guns. We need to find a way to prevent gun violence. We need to find a way to ban assault weapons. I get the fact that we're not going to be able to do a lot of things when it comes to totally getting rid of the Second Amendment rights. ... It's a diverse group of folks in the area. They should be able to feel safe in their mosques, in their synagogues and their churches on the holiday without worrying about the fact that somebody could come in there and shoot them. That is the difference between Chap and me. I will be fighting to make sure you legitimately feel safe through common sense gun laws.

Related:

Petersen Touts Advocacy For Children, Elderly, Small Business