When I was a kid, politics and civics never really registered for me. I thought those things were only for old people. Or losers. Or both. I grew up an NPR backseat baby, and my very Egyptian immigrant dad would quiz me and my younger brother on current events as he drove us to and from school. I wouldn’t care; I just wanted him to put on Jay-Z. Jay didn’t give a shit about Bush v. Gore. That shit’s for boring old losers.
It wasn’t until 2007 and 2008, when I was in college, that a guy by the name of Barack Obama started running for President. It was something about him — his calm demeanor combined with his deep intellect — that drew me in. Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann (remember him?) became must-watch TV. I subscribed to the Obama campaign’s YouTube videos at a time when using the internet was “edgy” for politicians, and I even contributed posts to Daily Kos (remember that?). My personal political awakening had begun.
Fast forward a decade: I’m making stupid money as a software engineer, blowing it on privileged shit like floor seats at musicals and visiting 10 national parks in a year. (Brownie points if you can identify the musical and the park in the photo above.) I still voted, but my involvement was pretty much only passive. I was a “user” of democracy, not a contributor to the codebase.
But then a friend invited me to a local Democratic club, and I realized how vital activism was. One thing led to another: I started volunteering on campaigns, became a precinct chair, served as an election judge, and eventually worked as a field director — all while maintaining my software job.
At the same time, though, I was becoming more bored and less fulfilled with software. I realized that the same logic I used to debug enterprise systems could be used to debug the unorganized organizing of the political world. In 2024, I said “fuck it” and made the full transition to local politics and community organizing.
In 2025, I launched a consulting company aimed at connecting the seemingly disparate progressive organizations in Dallas County. We don’t just “manage campaigns”; we perform systemic audits of the local power structure. We help communities form their own political action committees (PACs) and build resident empowerment councils (RECs) to gain real equity. I’m finally using my full skillset and life experience to solve a problem that actually matters to people like Ruthie — the neighbor who is being ignored by the system because of a lack of engagement on the system’s part.
This publication is a record of that journey. You might agree with my takes or you might disagree, but I’m always going to give you my side. Feel free to bash me in the comments. But more importantly, join me in answering this question: What can progressives actually do at the local level to build a robust, functional Democratic Party? Are you ready to help me? Then let’s fucking go.
