Hamid Karimi writes: San Francisco Bay Area Iranian American Democrats (BAIAD) held a special public event featuring Steve Westly, the former candidate for California governor and co-chair of Obama’s campaign as the keynote speaker. The eloquent MC, Lily Sarafan, started the event by welcoming everyone and introducing the agenda for the evening which included a roster of speakers and grassroots community organizers. The first speaker was Ira Ruskin, the California assemblyman from the 21st district who has led key efforts on environmental issues. Ira commended the Iranian American community for taking the lead in becoming one of the fastest politically active ethnic groups in America; according to him it took other immigrant minorities many generations to realize the value of activism and civic participation >>> Full text
