Salman Bhojani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salman Bhojani
JD
Salman Bhojani portrait.jpg
Euless City Council member, place 6
In office
2018[1]–2021[2]
Preceded byPerry Bynum[3]
Succeeded byTika Paudel[4]
Personal details
Born (1980-02-18) February 18, 1980 (age 41)
Pakistan
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materSouthern Methodist University
University of Texas at Dallas

Salman Bhojani (born February 18, 1980) is a Pakistani-American corporate lawyer and politician who is a former member of the City Council of Euless, Texas.[5] He was the first Muslim American to hold elected office in Euless.[6] Having completed his City Council term, in October 2021 Bhojani announced that he is running for the Texas House of Representatives.[7]

Background[]

Bhojani was born in Pakistan and lived there until the age of 10. In 1990 his family immigrated to Montreal, Canada where he completed primary and secondary school. In 1999 Bhojani moved with his parents to Carrollton, Texas.[8] In 2000 he enrolled at the University of Texas at Dallas, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2003.[9] During and after his studies, Bhojani worked at convenience stores and gas stations. In 2003 he became the owner of a gas station and convenience store, acquiring more properties around the DFW metroplex in the following years.[10] He moved to Bedford, Texas in 2007 and then to neighboring Euless, Texas in 2010.[11]

In 2009 Bhojani enrolled in the evening program at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 2013 and earned admission to the Texas State Bar.[12] Bhojani worked for Haynes and Boone LLP at its Dallas headquarters from 2013 to 2015, practicing corporate law. In 2015 he left Haynes and Boone to found Bhojani Law, PLLC, a firm specializing in real estate law, corporate law and estate planning, with offices in Irving, Texas.[13]

Political career[]

Bhojani was appointed to the Euless Parks & Leisure Services Board in 2014.[14] In May 2017 he ran for Place 2 on Euless City Council, earning 43.1% of the vote in a three-candidate race won by incumbent Jeremy Tompkins with 54.6% of the vote.[15] In May 2018 Bhojani ran for Place 6 on Euless City Council, an open seat. He won 50.4% of the vote, defeating his opponent Molly Maddux by 37 votes out of 4,203 votes cast.[16] This election saw the highest voter turnout in a Euless municipal election since 1993.[17]

This campaign earned local and national press coverage when Maddux sent a mailer to Euless voters highlighting Bhojani's Muslim faith and Republican State Representative Jonathan Stickland posted on Facebook calling Bhojani "sneaky," “a Muslim, lawyer, and a lifelong Democrat" with "ideas for our community [that] would scare a majority of our residents."[18] Stickland, whose district includes Euless, contributed $5,000 to the Maddux campaign and donated political consulting, canvassing services and postage worth an additional $7,909.[19] Stickland's comments were condemned on the editorial pages of the Dallas Morning News[20] and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram[21] and in a press release by the interfaith group Faith in Texas.[22]

Bhojani was sworn in as councilman on May 22, 2018, and presented with a ceremonial gavel by Texas State Rep. Rafael Anchia on behalf of Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. With his election, Bhojani became the first non-white minority elected official in Euless history.

In January 2021 Bhojani announced that he would not seek reelection to Euless City Council.[23] His term on Euless City Council ended in June 2021. In October 2021 he announced that he is running for the Texas House of Representatives. [24]

References[]

  1. ^ "Euless Home Rule Charter". Franklin Legal Publishing. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Euless City Council, Tuesday, January 12, 2021" (PDF). Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "List of Council Members". City of Euless. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "Euless City Council, Place 6". City of Euless. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Place 6, Council Member Salman Bhojani". City of Euless. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Young, Stephen (May 9, 2018). "Salman Bhojani Got Elected to Euless City Council. What Now?". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  7. ^ "Bhojani for Texas". Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  8. ^ Tilove, Jonathan (May 14, 2018). "In Salman v. Stickland, a Celebration of Diversity in Euless is Tested". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "Salman Bhojani". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Salman Bhojani". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Tilove, Jonathan (May 14, 2018). "In Salman v. Stickland, a Celebration of Diversity in Euless is Tested". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Salman Bhojani". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Salman Bhojani". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Tilove, Jonathan (May 14, 2018). "In Salman v. Stickland, a Celebration of Diversity in Euless is Tested". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Election Register". City of Euless. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Election Register". City of Euless. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  17. ^ "Voting Register". City of Euless. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  18. ^ Garrett, Robert (April 26, 2018). "Texas Lawmaker Aims 'Muslim' as Epithet against Euless City Council Candidate". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  19. ^ "Campaign/Officeholder Campaign Finance Report" (PDF). City of Euless. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  20. ^ Floyd, Jacquielynn (May 8, 2018). "Another Day, Another Low for Texas' Lowest Politician". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  21. ^ Editorial Board (May 7, 2018). "Euless Should Celebrate its Council's New Diversity". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  22. ^ "Clergy Unite Against Racism". Faith in Texas. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  23. ^ "Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Euless City Council, Tuesday, January 12, 2021" (PDF). Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "Bhojani for Texas". Retrieved June 18, 2021.
Retrieved from ""