MQM USA Washington DC Unit’s efforts help re-elect (D) VA Congressman Jim Moran from the 8th Congressional District.(June-10-2004)

June 8th, 2004 – The Washington DC unit has successfully campaigned to help re-elect (D) VA Congressman Jim Moran from the 8th Congressional District in the Northern Virginia primary elections. The campaign got off to a full swing in early March and was officially completed on June 8th, 2004 when the polls were closed at 7:00 pm.

The Washington DC unit offered their voluntary services to the Congressman after carefully studying his domestic and foreign agendas. Prior to joining the campaign trail, the DC unit met with the Congressman and his aides to discuss various issues affecting the 8th Congressional District as well as other matters concerning the minorities in the 8th District with a deeper focus put on the Pakistani community. The DC unit also attended numerous town hall meetings to get a closer and a more in-depth perspective on the Congressman’s views on local issues. The DC unit also appreciated the fact that Congressman Jim Moran has served the Northern Virginia region for over 26 years with sincere devotion to public service and his growing popularity among the minorities. It was then decided by the Washington DC unit to throw their full support behind the Congressman’s bid to get re-elected.

The Washington DC unit’s campaign consisted of door-to-door walks in different precincts of the 8th District in which they encouraged voters to come out and support the Congressman on election day and also briefed the citizens on the Congressman’s services to the community. In other precincts the DC unit carried out their support by arranging and carrying out telephonic campaigns by making over 1000 phone calls to registered voters and reminding them to vote on election day for the Congressman. The DC unit also placed over 500 “MORAN FOR CONGRESS” bumper stickers on various vehicles, handed out over 5000 pieces of literature regarding Jim Moran, placed over 300 yard signs in different neighborhoods and major intersections in the 8th District. On election day the DC unit not only provided transportation which covered 75% of the 8th District to voters who could not reach the polling stations on their own, but also stood at polling stations to greet the voters and encouraged them to vote for Jim Moran.

The campaign ended at 7:00 pm with the closing of all polling booths throughout the area. The unofficial results were announced at approximately 9:25 pm, which resulted in the Congressman securing 23,964 votes while his challenger Andy Rosenberg bagging an impressive 16,982 votes. The results were declared official at 11:00 pm and Congressman Jim Moran was declared the winner.

The Jim Moran re-election campaign wholeheartedly thanked the MQM for their hard work and sincere teamwork throughout the entire campaign. Congressman Jim Moran also acknowledged the fact that the MQM was one of the only few social/political organizations which offered their services on a complete voluntary basis while other supporters were being paid in monetary amounts. For their tireless efforts, the Jim Moran re-election campaign awarded the DC unit by giving the MQM a chair on their standing committee to represent the Pakistani community.

The MQM Washington DC unit in-charge Amir Siddiqui would like to thank the joint unit in-charge Salim Shaikh along with the committee members: Fawad Rehman, Shahid Moin, and Navaid Hussain for their efforts. The DC unit would also like to thank the Central Organizing Committee (COC) for their persistent encouragement throughout the entire campaign, in particular the Central Organizer, Ibad Ur Rehman.