Fahad Akhtar is a beacon of hope in a political climate that often feels chaotic. One need look no further than his work in the Obama White House where his dedication towards restoring common sense to America's political sphere was exceptional and inspiring. His vision for America, one of hope, healthcare for all, justice, same day voter registration, common sense social policy, and economic opportunity for real people, rings true to the future the Democratic Party needs. But now we need Fahad where he can make a difference - the New Jersey Assembly.

New Jersey does not need politics as usual; it needs leaders who understand policy and the real-world dynamics at play. Fahad's background and training make him a prime candidate to usher in a new era of Democratic politics, one based on understanding, empathy, and compassion.

The state's Democratic Party, with approximately one million more registered Democrats than Republicans, has a golden opportunity to reform itself to be the party of America’s future—great change which Fahad Akhtar can spearhead (New Jersey Department of State, 2021). Yet, we should not disregard the approximately 2.4 million registered unaffiliated voters who seek a leader in the Democratic Assembly (New Jersey Department of State, 2021). To build consensus and find bipartisan solutions to tough questions, we need a leader like Fahad Akhtar whose background in community organizing, law enforcement, national security, and finance make him appealing to all New Jerseyans.

Let's put our weight behind Fahad Akhtar. Let our collective voice be the call that encourages him to run in the Democratic Primary for the NJ Assembly for the 17th Legislative District. Let us place politics of fear and derogation behind us and embrace the politics of reason, understanding, and truth.

Please sign this petition and join us in voicing our support for Fahad Akhtar's potential run in the New Jersey Democratic Primary.

Bio from www.fahadnj.com

Fahad Akhtar was born and raised in central New Jersey. He has experience in community organizing, national security, financial services, government, and investment consulting. He is running for United States Congress in the Sixth District of New Jersey because as a wise man once said: "by refusing to participate in politics, you end up governed by your inferiors."

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The son of an elementary school teacher and small business owner, Fahad was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and raised a few miles away. His childhood centered around martial arts, sports, and getting in trouble.
 
In high school, while flipping burgers three days a week at Burger King, Fahad dreamt of becoming a professional athlete. However, after realizing he was neither big nor talented enough to play in the NFL, he turned to government and politics as an outlet for his competitive spirit. Following a stint as president of his high school student government and student representative to the Board of Education, Fahad volunteered to spend the summer before his freshman year of college as one of the youngest organizing fellows for Organizing for Action, where he led local efforts to combat climate change. It was a fun summer, until Fahad's father suffered a debilitating stroke. 

Fahad's first few months at Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus revolved around visiting his father in the hospital and earning as much as he could to help keep the lights on at home. But adversity makes men. Fahad excelled academically that year, became an economics tutor and teaching assistant, and rose to leadership positions in nearly every student activity in which he was involved. 

By his sophomore year, he was on his way to The White House as a presidential writer.
 
After graduating college, Fahad joined BlackRock, where he worked in client businesses, portfolio construction, product development, and rose to become the firm's youngest group manager. After four years at the pinnacle of public markets, he sold his Porsche, got married, and left BlackRock for Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. At the same time, he began managing his own private equity and venture investment firm. 

While at Dartmouth, Fahad served as a career advisor for the Next Step and Business Bridge Programs. It was through those programs that Fahad rekindled his desire to serve others, and decided to work his way back into government as a national security innovation fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he spearheaded a China-related battlefield hardware initiative for Army SFG1 and PACOM. 
 
His time at DoD convinced Fahad that his desire to serve would be most valuable in the intelligence community. After studying up on the threats we faced, and writing America’s Future Wars: Russia, China, & Iran, Fahad headed to Quantico to become a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Four months later, Fahad was assigned to the New York field office to defend our Nation's critical infrastructure against intelligence and espionage threats from the People's Republic of China. It was there that he realized that lawmakers have left our intelligence community at a severe disadvantage against our most sophisticated adversaries. That realization is what drove him to the decision to run for Congress. 
 
Fahad is a practicing Muslim and father of two. He can shoot a perfect bullseye, runs a sub-6 minute mile, and benchpresses and squats more than all of the other candidates combined. 

He and his wife have visited nearly every National Park in the country by road, and he firmly believes that no one should be allowed to govern this country until they physically get to know it and love it.