Meet Lily Gilani: Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives

May 9, 2014, Washington, D.C. – Lily Gilani, CEO and co-founder of BuzzCounsel.com, is running to represent California’s 33rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Click here to view Lily Gilani’s first campaign TV advertisement. District 33 residents: Register to vote by May 19, 2014, and receive an invitation to one of Lily Gilani’s private campaign events.

A first generation immigrant, Gilani holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and has been practicing law for more than two decades. Before launching BuzzCounsel.com, she served as Adjunct Professor of Law at Whittier Law School and Vice President for Legal Affairs at SleepSolutionDoctors.com.

Asked why she was running for public office, Gilani told PAAIA that growing up, her parents taught her to look at life beyond herself and to strive to serve others. “I felt then, as I do now, that public service was a high calling. It was, and is, my deepest conviction that no pursuit is as valuable as the simple idea of helping others. I would also like to do my part in paving the way to Iranian American leadership in Washington for our children.”

Asked about some of the issues facing the 33rd district, Gilani said that there are many critical issues, including economic opportunity, a shrinking middle class, lack of high paying jobs, the high cost of healthcare due to rising premiums, and an increase in the cost of basic food commodities and the cost of living, among others.

“I decided to enter the race to ensure that the same opportunities that were available to me as an immigrant would be available to the next generation of Americans, ” Gilani told PAAIA. “I have always exercised reason and moderation, and believe there are workable solutions that will restore our economy, create jobs, improve the status of our lagging schools, and ensure our continued competitive edge in innovation and healthcare.”

Gilani will face seventeen other candidates in the primary on June 3, 2014 to succeed retiring Congressman Henry Waxman. The top two vote getters will advance to the general election in November. Gilani is the only female Republican and the only Iranian American running for the seat.

Gilani hopes to receive support from the Iranian American community in her bid to represent California’s 33rd District. The number of eligible Iranian American voters exceeds the usual voter turnout and includes one of the highest concentrations of Iranian Americans in the country. “The most important role Iranian Americans can play is to vote on June 3, 2014. Only by entering the political mainstream can we ensure that our interests are addressed and that we are not marginalized as a group. If we come together, we will win and we will make history by electing the first Iranian American to the United States House of Representatives.”

“Our community can also get involved in our campaign by volunteering their time, by spreading the word about our campaign through social media, or by making a financial contribution to help us reach voters,” Gilani told PAAIA.

Gilani’s campaign recently gained traction with the endorsement of former California State Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman. In addition, her campaign has received support from Iranian American business and community leaders in Los Angeles, including international business economist Behzad Tabatabaei and board member of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation Lotfollah Hay.

Lily Giani lives in Los Angeles with her husband Sam, a perio-surgeon in private practice in Beverly Hills and faculty member at UCLA. They have two children.

Click here to learn more about Lily Gilani’s campaign.