Pakistani American Loses Bid for Dallas City Council to Represent District 2 in Texas
- The real estate firm executive and former Dallas city spokeswoman, narrowly lost to Jesse Moreno, a restaurant owner.
Pakistani American Sana Syed lost her bid for the Dallas City Council in the June 5 runoff election to represent District 2 in Texas. Syed, a real estate firm executive and former Dallas city spokeswoman, lost to Jesse Moreno, a restaurant owner, by a thin margin – Syed got 1,189 votes, while Moreno got 1,609, reported The Dallas Morning News. The district covers parts of downtown, Deep Ellum, the Cedars, Oak Lawn and East Dallas. Moreno will fill the seat vacated by council member Adam Medrano.
The race between Syed and Moreno “saw Syed questioning Moreno’s fitness to serve because he did not disclose a $150,000 tax lien in 2015 that was still active as of May,” The Dallas Morning News reported. “Moreno, a former Park Board member, has since paid off the tax lien. He also had touted his service to the city as a reason for voters to choose him.”
Six districts held runoff elections for Dallas City Council on June 5. Three races were for open seats, and three were between an incumbent and a challenger. All fourteen seats were up for election this year. Each term is two years in length, with council members to be sworn in on June 14.
A former TV news reporter in Dallas, Syed served as Dallas’ spokesperson and Director of the Public Information Office, Syed was a local. In that position, she managed the city’s international response to the first U.S. case of Ebola in 2014 and the city’s response to the July 7th ambush of Dallas Police officers, as per her website.
She is currently the executive vice president of Community Outreach & Development for Nicholas Residential, where she works closely with nonprofits and businesses to find and deliver resources, emergency assistance funds, and workforce housing solutions. She also manages an effort to provide housing resources to non-profits that serve refugees and victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.
She is also a course instructor for the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), teaching police chiefs across the state of Texas.Syed is the Founder and CEO of Kimiya International, a nonprofit focused on human rights advocacy through film and trauma therapy.
Syed holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from UTA, a Master of Science in Journalism from TCU, and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy from UTA.