Why I'm Running

A Letter from Mussab

To the Families of NJ-08

Dear Neighbor,

My father has delivered your mail for 24 years. My mother taught in our public schools for 30. When my family came to Jersey City from Lahore, Pakistan in 2000, my parents believed in the promise of this country — that if you work hard, serve your community, and play by the rules, you can build a good life for your family.

Then 9/11 happened. My mother was attacked for wearing a hijab. My father was laid off. And in the richest country on earth, my family learned the hard way that the promise doesn't keep itself.

They didn't give up. They kept serving. They kept showing up. And that's what they taught me: when things are broken, you don't walk away. You fight to fix them.

I ran for the Board of Education at 20 because I watched our schools crumble while politicians traded favors. I became the youngest elected official in Jersey City history — and then I got to work. We raised teacher salaries. We eliminated student lunch debt. We passed the first fully funded budget in over a decade. We fixed lead in the water at 14 schools.

Then, at 23, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Twelve rounds of chemotherapy. I was terrified. But I kept showing up — to every board meeting, every community hearing, every fight that mattered. I never missed a single meeting.

I beat it. I went to Harvard Law. I earned every scholarship they said kids from my neighborhood couldn't get — Truman Scholar, Schwarzman Scholar, Soros Fellow. I came home and built the Ali Leadership Institute to train the next generation of fighters from communities like ours.

And then I looked around at what was happening to our district.

Rent in Jersey City is up 40% since 2019. In a district where 72% of us are renters, that's not a statistic — it's an eviction notice in slow motion. Childcare costs more than college tuition. Families are skipping meals to make rent. ICE raids terrorize our immigrant neighbors — in a district where 45% of us were born in another country.

And our congressman? He inherited his seat from his father. He takes corporate PAC money. He hasn't fought for Medicare for All. He hasn't fought to abolish ICE. He hasn't fought for the people of Newark, Jersey City, and Elizabeth the way we deserve to be fought for.

I'm running because this district raised me. Because my parents — a mailman and a teacher — gave everything to this community and deserve a representative who will do the same. Because I've already proven I can take on the powerful and win. And because the families of NJ-08 deserve a fighter in Congress, not an heir to a dynasty.

This campaign is funded by working people. Our average donation is under $100. We don't take a dollar from corporate PACs. Every door knocked, every call made, every $5 contribution — that's what powers this movement.

I'm asking you to believe in something bigger than one candidate. I'm asking you to believe that a mailman's son — an immigrant, a cancer survivor, a public school kid from Jersey City — can beat the machine. Because if we do this together, we won't just win an election. We'll prove that in America, power still belongs to the people.

Will you join me?