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Tarik Sayeed , NDP candidate for Penticton riding is Hopeful to Win a Seat.
5-02-2017
Tarik Sayeed in a nomination meeting held in Summerland was chosen as the NDP’s nominee in the Penticton riding in the upcoming provincial election. Sayeed beat challenger Toni Boot in a two-way race between a Penticton councillor and Summerland councillor.
Tarik Sayeed an entrepreneur and Penticton city councillor originally from Bangladesh is running against Former mayor of Penticton, Dan Ashton in the Upcoming Provincial Elections.
The Okanagan is generally an area where the NDP struggles and the B.C. Liberals have won every seat in the region since 1996.
NDP did win the riding of Penticton in 1991, and also won the riding federally in 2015 and came within 1,300 votes of winning provincially in 2013.
This is a key riding the NDP is hoping to Pick Up. “Penticton is a winnable constituency, it is part of our plan to victory and we are hoping Tarik would be our Muslim Candidate at the table” stated John Horgan in one of the three meetings held with the Muslim Community Leaders and representatives from Different Organizations since becoming the Leader of the NDP.
He has held several leadership roles in Information Technology with companies such as JumpTV, Comcast, and First West Credit Union. In 2011, IT World Canada recognized Sayeed for his work by choosing him for its prestigious IT Manager of the Year Award; he finished in the top ten.
Tarik received his MBA from NJIT and has Executive Certifications in Leadership & Management from the University of Waterloo and MIT. He is an active community volunteer, Rotarian, and sits on the Board of Directors for the PENMAR Community Arts Society and PDCRS.
In January 2014, Tarik was recognized as Penticton's Top 40 Under 40 for "demonstrating excellence in community service, entrepreneurship, innovation, and business". Sayeed is well known in international news streams and the tech community. He was a guest speaker in Toronto for the largest TEDx conference in Canada.
His father was a pilot and he has travelled to many places around the World. He comes from a strong political family Background.
Why Penticton
Tarik moved to Toronto from New Jersey and started to work for Jump TV in Toronto. He Says, “He had a tough time getting job in the beginning because I did not have Canadian Experience. So what I Did was started to work at night clubs, as a dishwasher, Parking Cars, and then I started to volunteer at various places to get the Canadian Experience.”
In the meantime, “I was looking for job and Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, was looking for an IT Person. I applied and got the job, hoping to stay for one year but I am still here nine years later.” Tarik Sayeed has lived in Penticton with his wife Tahira since 2008.
Why Politics
His grand father was a “freedom fighter” and his uncle was part of the team who wrote the constitution of Bangladesh. He still maintains ties with many cousins who are MP’s, MLA’s and Mayor’s back home.
The reason for Tarik to get into Municipal Politics was to support a younger generation candidate. Since there was, none whom he could support it was during his conversations with friends and colleagues who encouraged him to run.
The first time “I voted in Canada was when I got a chance to vote for myself.”
Accomplishments as a City Councillor
“We approved a 52-unit rental housing for low-income working families and another 42 unit for the homeless people in Penticton and the target is to reach 100 units available for the homeless.”
Why are you jumping to Provincial Politics?
“We almost had school closures and homelessness is a big issue for our community. The Christy Clark’s Government is giving the Tax break to top 2% and ignoring the rest.”
“There are about 160 homeless people here in Penticton and it is directly a result of the lack of services that is not available to the community due to the provincial government’s negligence.”
Why NDP
"I essentially grew up, and was nurtured under the same ideological values similar to the BC NDP," Sayeed said. "Therefore, it is only a natural transition that I unite with the principles of the BC NDP."
When asked by Alameen Post why he has not connected with the Muslim Community so far, he replied, “I do not wish to bring my Religion in politics.”
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