New England’s Only South Asian State Legislator May Lose His Seat

The following article is from INDIANewEngland.com, posted Nov. 24, 2008.

New England is in danger of losing its only South Asian state lawmaker.

Four-term New Hampshire state Rep. Saghir Tahir, a Republican representing Manchester who goes by the nickname “Saggy,” clings to a lead of only 14 votes in his race for re-election following balloting on Nov. 4.

His opponent, Democrat William Whitmore, has requested a recount and the final results of the race may not be known for weeks.“I respect the people of Manchester and their decision whether I win or lose,” Tahir said.

“I’m very proud to have been able to serve for eight years. Life goes on.”Tahir represents Hillsborough District Nine, a region of Manchester that elects three state representatives to serve in the Legislature in Concord.

Considered a rising star among the nation’s small group of South Asian politicians, Tahir is popular in the Manchester region and was the top vote-getter in the district in 2000, 2004 and 2006.

But this year, Tahir is struggling against a strong Democratic tide to take the third and final spot on the ballot.

“I wasn’t going to get the most votes this time,” Tahir said. “The Obama volunteers did some great work. They were everywhere. Their level of grassroots campaigning was incredible. The Republicans liked to make fun of [Obama’s] background as a community organizer, but it obviously paid off for him and the Democrats beat the Republicans badly in the ground game.”

Tahir noted that more than 1,000 new voters registered at the polls in his district on Tuesday.

“And with the economy so bad, I can’t expect them to have voted Republican,” Tahir said.

The results are also notable because Tahir was one of the city’s few elected Republicans to weather the Democratic election wave of 2006, in which Democrats captured 29 of the city’s 35 State House seats.

Tahir was not only re-elected that year, but was the highest vote-getter in the district.

Tahir may have been handicapped by the success of the Democratic ticket this year in Manchester, the state’s largest city. The city handed Gov. John Lynch 74 percent of the vote on his way to re-election, while fellow Democrat Barack Obama captured 54 percent of the city’s vote.

Even if re-elected, Tahir will have to work in a legislative body controlled by the opposing party. Although Democrats lost 17 seats this year, they retained the majority of the New Hampshire House that they wrestled from Republican control in 2006.

Tahir accused Democrats of intense partisanship that likely would prevent him from pursuing many key policy initiatives. Nevertheless, if re-elected, he said he would like to help lower-middle-class residents afford heating their homes this winter.

“They work so hard, and they’re not the type to go to the Welfare Department looking for a handout, but the heating bills this year are going to kill them,” he said.

Tahir also said his “heart is in education,” and noted that his proudest legislative accomplishment is a bill he sponsored that introduced an engineering program to New Hampshire high schools and expanded vocational programs for non-college-bound high school students.

Tahir was critical of his own party in the wake of an election in which Republicans lost all major races in New Hampshire.  Tahir accused the Republican leadership of not changing its message to address the changing demographics of the state.

He cited the party’s traditional resistance to raising the minimum wage as an issue that disenfranchises many voters.

“The state is changing, and we have to stay on top of that and remain visionary. That’s politics,” he said. “But there’s no leadership, [the Republicans] are cast in stone in the old way of doing things.” 

A native of the disputed Kashmir region of India, Tahir moved to the United States in 1972 and worked in engineering and real estate. He runs a roofing consultant business from his home in addition to working as a state representative. Tahir is married and has three children.

source: INDIANewEngland.com