Amir Omar Announces Bid for Richardson Mayor
November 16, 2012, Dallas, TX – Richardson City Council member Amir Omar yesterday announced his bid for mayor of Richardson, Texas. The election is scheduled for May 2013 and will mark the first time since the city’s charter was adopted in 1956 that the residents of Richardson will elect their mayor. Previous mayors were selected by the city council.
“This is a great change for our future because we deserve a Mayor who works directly for our families and small businesses,” said Omar in his announcement notice. “Just as I have done on the City Council, as your Mayor I will be a hands-on leader with a passion for Richardson. That means waking up each day with the goal of making our community the best place possible to live, work and raise a family.”
Omar currently serves on the city council (Place 7) of Richardson, Texas. He was first elected in May 2009 and reelected in 2011 with 63% of the vote.
If successful, Omar will become the first Iranian American directly elected mayor in the United States (other Iranian Americans have been elected as city council members and selected to serve as mayors by the city council). Omar’s campaign has quickly gained momentum with endorsements from the Richardson Fraternal Order of Police as well as a number of community leaders, including former Richardson Councilman, Ernest Randall, and the former Dallas County GOP Chairman, Bod Driegert.
A first generation American of Iranian and Palestinian descent, Omar describes himself as the “living proof that the American dream is alive and well.” He grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and attended Texas A&M University where he majored in industrial distribution.
Located just ten miles outside downtown Dallas, the city of Richardson is part of the telecom corridor of Texas. More than 5,000 businesses have operations within Richardson, including many of the world’s largest telecommunications/networking companies. The city was ranked as the 18th best place to live in the United States in the August 2008 issue of Money magazine.
In 2010, as council liaison to the Richardson Environmental Advisory Commission, Omar championed the “Tree the Town” initiative. With widespread support from corporate and non-profit sponsors, Amir’s initiative has turned into the largest tree planting initiative Northern Texas has ever seen.
In May 2012, the One Man Dallas project named Omar as the winner of the 2012 One Man Dallas Award. Out of 21 nominees, Omar was selected as the one man who best represents the Dallas-Forth Worth area from the perspective of community involvement, personality, intelligence, and fitness. He was nominated for the award in recognition of his volunteer work with the Methodist Richardson Cancer Center, which has one of the most advanced cancer centers in North Texas. He currently serves on the Methodist Richardson Medical Center Foundation.
Click here to learn more about Amir Omar.
