Authorized by Friends of Ahmed, Treasurer David W.Whyte
Showing posts with label District 23A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label District 23A. Show all posts

Monday, August 30, 2010

More About Ahmed

Letter Written in support of Shukoor Ahmed for State Delegate

I met Shukoor Ahmed years ago while he was campaigning in Lanham and have been following him ever since. I've found that he has a moderate stand on most of the issues. His views seem to be in sync with most of us who live in this county. He has consistently supported parental choice in public schools, supported the ICC, and supported finding new revenues for education. I, as a businessman, trust him to be a good custodian of our taxes. As an executive of a small business in an economy which is heavily technology and innovation driven, Shukoor would be an ideal delegate who would bring new ideas and better solutions to Annapolis. We've had a lot of people who have been in office for years and have lost touch with the public. Now is the time to elect an "outsider," someone who has not held an elected office before, someone like you and me, who can understand our needs and relate to us.

INNOCENT FRANCIS

Bowie

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Final Maryland Twitter Rule Omits Archiving Requirements

Dear Citizen,

I was interviewed by Kate Kaye last week about new social media disclosure rules for candidates in Maryland.

I am the only candidate who is maximizing the use of social media to connect, engage, inform and empower citizens in Prince George's county.

Thank you and enjoy this article.

+++++++++++++

Social media and online ad disclosure rules for Maryland political candidates officially passed July 20. The final law, however, omits an item in earlier versions that would have required candidates to maintain a detailed log of text messages and social media posts. Still, Maryland's director of candidate and campaign finance suggested that candidates will need to store copies of all online communications anyway.

In June, the state's Board of Elections unanimously passed rules that require political campaigns to include a disclosure statement on Facebook profile pages, Twitter account pages, and display ads, but not in Google AdWords and AdSense text units or Facebook's display units. The statement, known as an authority line, features standard language indicating an association with an election campaign. The ruling was passed as an emergency regulation because 2010 election campaigns - some of which will use social media and online advertising - are kicking into gear.

But a final hurdle had yet to be crossed. Maryland State Delegate Mike Smigiel, who is running for re-election this year, called for a public hearing to discuss the rules before final approval. Concerned that the new social media rules could have detrimental results, Smigiel voted against them during the July 20 hearing. He was the lone "nay" in the 11-1 passage of the law. The rule's proponents were backed by representatives of Google, Facebook, AOL, and Yahoo who were present when the rule was first passed as well as at the final July 20 vote.

The final law leaves out a passage that would have required candidate campaigns to keep a detailed archive of their online campaign materials, stored in paper or a non-rewriteable electronic format for at least a year. Now, according to Jared DeMarinis, Maryland's director of candidate and campaign finance, candidates don't have to keep a log of web communiques like Facebook posts or e-mails, but, in accordance with a pre-existing rule applying to traditional media, they will have to make sure those online communications are stored somewhere.

"There is [already] a provision that requires archiving campaign materials for one year," said DeMarinis, suggesting campaigns "print out copies."

The rules go into effect August 3. The goal of the legislation is to ensure that voters can tell the difference between an official campaign message and a phony one. One concern is that political campaigns could create false social media accounts associated with opponents and use them to convey damaging information about them. However, supporters of opponents could do the same and not be in violation of the law.

Shukoor Ahmed's Twitter page does not include the authority line that will be required August 3 either. The Democratic primary candidate for Maryland's District 23A House of Delegates seat (pictured above) is working on incorporating authority lines into his online communications, such as his YouTube videos. Yet, because he uses his personal Twitter account for his campaign communications, he's not sure if or how he will incorporate the authority line.

"I'm not sure how the rules are going to play out," Ahmed told ClickZ News. He believes most Maryland election candidates "were not engaged" in discussions about the rules. "Candidates and people like me will have difficulties to really put our arms around the social media part," he said, noting concern that messages or videos he posts could be reposted by supporters without the authority line.

DeMarinis affirmed that anything posted by supporters will not require the authority line because their communications are considered free speech. He also noted that campaign videos posted online are required to include the authority line disclosure in the video content itself.

Ahmed Will Move County Forward

Dear Citizen,

This was a letter written by a former Prince George's County School System Administator who resides in Bowie.

Thank you & Have a good weekend

+++++++++++++++++

I wholeheartedly endorse the election of Shukoor Ahmed to serve as a state delegate in District 23A. I have worked closely with him in trying to protect and safeguard not only the rights of people in his district but throughout the county.

As a small business owner, I can tell you of the countless hours he has spent pouring over data, analyzing situations and agonizing over budgets. He understands the plight of the small business owner, but more than that, he has empathy for those who have lost their jobs, as he recalls his own anguish in having to reduce his staff. Shukoor has a genuine concern for people, and he views each situation as a challenge and rises to meet the challenge.

We all know that these are challenging times, and so, more than ever before, we need Shukoor because he has the vision and the skill sets required to move us forward. I am proud to know him. I am proud to cast my vote for him.

Bill Jones, Bowie

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Shukoor Ahmed for Maryland House of Delegates 23A Update

Dear Friend/Supporter -

I hope you had wonderful 4th of July weekend. I wanted to update you with the progress of our campaign has made. These are some highlights:

1) We have signed a lease for office space and currently are in the process of setting up our office at 6915 Laurel Bowie Road, Suite 250 G. We should be functional by July 12th.

2) Our website is up and running (www.shukoor.com) and we are fixing a few minor tweaks.

3) We are in the process of launching a website which will allow any citizen to make his/her own sample ballot (www.pgballot.com). We hope to roll out by middle or the end of next week. This will be a Democratic Sample Ballot for Prince George’s County.

4) We are also working with couple of smart computer programmers to build an iPhone application which will allow citizens to find polling location; verify their voter registration status and track their absentee ballot request statewide.

5) We are helping David Murray and Edward Burroughs (School Board candidates for District 1 and District 8).

6) We held a fundraiser for them and raised about $ 900 each.

7) Our sign are all over the district. We are now getting into placing smaller yard signs in the next week or so.

8) We will have a Campaign Manager and a Field Director by the end of next week.

9) We had two letters to the editors in all 3 local newspapers (Bowie-Blade News, Bowie Gazette and Laurel Leader). We have about 5 of our supporters ready to write letters to the editor.

10) Our campaign had the highest Fan/Supporters 866 and the next candidate has about 730.

11) We have assisted 6 constituents in identifying job opportunities so far.

12) We have 4 confirmed fundraisers and are on target to raise needed money to win this campaign.

13) We will have a Phone Bank by the end of next week in our office.

14) We were interviewed by Prince Georges Community Television and it was aired on 7th of July.

15) We will be opening up a lot of information about our campaign to bring transparency and empower citizens.

16) We are the most active campaign in disseminating information and opening up opportunities for several businesses to get political customers.

17) We are waving about twice a week for the last 3 weeks. We hope to begin waving 3 times a week from next week.

18) We knocked about 2100 homes already and doing an average of about 90 homes each day.

Thank you very much for all your support. Let us get the word out to all our friends and families who live District 23A.

Have a good weekend and I hope to campaign back after the Soccer Final today in an hour.

Sincerely,

Shukoor Ahmed
Democrat for Maryland House of Delegates 23A

Thursday, May 27, 2010

V-Empower, Inc. is ranked 46th in Local Giving by Washington Business Journal

V-Empower, Inc. is ranked 46th in Local Giving by Washington Business Journal
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 11:01am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2010 V-Empower, Inc. of Bowie, MD ranked 46th in Local Giving by Washington Business Journal for 2010.

Shukoor Ahmed, CEO of V-Empower, Inc., is also a Candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates (District 23A).

Only 3 Companies are headquartered in Prince George’s County out of 50 in the Washington Area.Washington Business Journal had only 4 companies from Prince George’s county and 3 of them are headquartered in the county.

  • Safeway, Inc. of Lanham which is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA was ranked #1 in local giving with $ 10.47 million (0.26 % of revenue of $ 40.80 billion)
  • Mona Electric group ranked # 33 with $ 210,000 (0.3% of revenue of $ 70 million)
  • Geppetto Catering of Riverdale ranked # 40 with $ 111,000 (2.43% of revenue of 4.57 million)
  • V-Empower, Inc. of BOWIE, MD ranked # 46 with $ 32,000 (3.17% of revenue of 1.01 million)

V-Empower, Inc. was ranked 5th in local giving in 2009. Despite the changes in economy over the years and decrease in revenue, V-Empower , Inc. continually maintains a record and passion of giving back to the community, mostly in the area of Technology to non-profits, education & healthcare, and still ranking 46th in local giving in 2010.

V-Empower, Inc. also maintains a crime tracking tool for Prince George’s county citizens as www.crimeblotter.org.“We are proud to assist several non-profits in achieving their strategic goals using technology” said Shukoor Ahmed, CEO of V-Empower, Inc.

For additional information:

Friends of AhmedKenneth Laureys (Campaign Chairman)

Email: k.laureys@comcast.net

Phone: 301 661 6682

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (May 8)

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (May 8)

Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 4:34pm

Our campaign is supporting Letter Carrier's Food Drive on May 8th. Please put your non-perishable donation in a bag by your mailbox. Your postman will pick it up on May 8th. It will be delivered to a local food bank.

We are teaming up with Postal Service, Campbells, Valpak, United Way, AFL-CIO & Feeding America. We have already gotten the word out via VALPAK to about 45,000 District 23A residents.

Thank you and let us donate non-perishable items on 8th of May.

Shukoor Ahmed

V-Empower, Inc.'s 1st Quarter 2010 & 2009 Update

V-Empower, Inc.'s 1st Quarter 2010 & 2009 Update
Monday, April 26, 2010 at 11:02pm

Dear Friend,

I hope you are doing well. I have not had the opportunity to fully update you in the last 3 to 4 months. Our company went through a lot of challenges in the last 6 months. Also, I had to make a decision to seek a public office or not. I wanted to thank my spouse, kids, my siblings, in-laws, parents, clients, investors, friends and contributors who stuck with me and our company in difficult times. We could not have done it without your help, guidance and support.

I would like to take this opportunity to update you on some of our major accomplishments in the last 6 months:
  • Successful audit by Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation
  • Successful audit by Washington State Revenue Authority (Identified about $ 2128 in back taxes/we are looking at our books and will hopefully resolve it within a week or so)
  • Successful transfer of ownership of 2 companies to my colleagues (V-Empower, Inc will be a minority owner and help my friends to grow these companies & expand)
  • In negotiation to transfer 3 of our products to companies who have the bandwidth to enhance/market/sell in this tough economy. We had a whole lot on our plate and needed these partnerships
  • Turned 4 of our employees into entrepreneurs/partner/owners effective March 1, 2010
  • We are positioned to be one of the Philanthropic companies in Washington area (scheduled to announce in mid May, 2010). We had ranked 5th in charitable giving in the Washington Metro area by Business Journal in 2009
  • We are about 1/5th from our peak time in 2006 (Revenue of % 5.34 million in 2006 to $1.02 million in 2009)
  • We are extremely focused in the following areas: (Information Security, Share point (Microsoft Product), Open Source (PHP/Drupal/Joomla), Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Web-based solutions, iPhone Applications, Facebook Applications & Linkedin Applications
  • We are also in the initial stages of two big ideas (these are going to be web-based solutions, www.sendiwthme.com and http://www.ontheflight.com/).
  • We have signed up about 3 new good customers recently this month.
  • We are in negotiations with few good companies to be their sub-contractors in areas of our expertise

We took heavy losses in the last 18 months and I believe, we are on an upswing. I have gotten a lot of things organized to seek Democratic Nomination for the Maryland House of Delegates (23A). We raised about $46,000 so far and I am hoping to raise about $ 60,000 more to be competitive. It is an open seat and I had gotten a little behind, but we are determined to get our message out, earn support of my citizens, win in the primary and effectively serve from January 2011. Most of you are following me on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. I will need your support. You can also visit my personal websites:

www.shukoor.com (Will be functional by 30th of April)

www.shukoor.org (Personal)

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this email and I am committed to serving my citizens, help our customers, empower our employees & fellow entrepreneurs. This down side has taught me very valuable lessons and I am pretty sure will bring the best in me and among us.

Have a good day

Shukoor Ahmed

Shukoor Ahmed Announcees Canddiacy for State Delegate (23A)

Shukoor Ahmed Announces Candidacy for State Delegate (23A)

Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 3:53am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2010

Shukoor Ahmed Announces Candidacy for State Delegate (23A)
Candidate will focus on quality of life issues and promote a small-business friendly agenda

BOWIE, MD – Small-business owner Shukoor Ahmed today announced his candidacy for the District 23A seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

On deciding to launch his campaign, Shukoor said, “In these trying times, the citizens of District 23A need a strong advocate with proven leadership abilities. I am confident that my background as an entrepreneur and technologist will enable me to be an effective voice of District 23A in Annapolis.”

Shukoor has been active in public and community service for almost two decades and has volunteered with such diverse causes as Lutheran Social Services, Winter Haven Homeless Shelter, State Democracy Foundation and the Ayesha & Ali Padder Foundation. He has also been engaged in various political campaigns including Obama for America (2008), Ike Leggett for County Executive (2006) and Bill Bradley for President (2000). He has also served as the Vice President of the Governor Oden Bowie Democratic Club.

Shukoor runs his own IT consulting company and knows the daily challenges faced by small businesses. Meeting a payroll and providing healthcare for employees are just two areas where he intends to apply his business experience in serving the residents of District 23A. His involvement as a Board Member of the Bowie Business Innovation Center is one example of how he brings an innovative approach towards creating jobs and supporting small business.

Among the key areas he will focus on during this campaign: pursuing a jobs-creation agenda, supporting public education, encouraging innovative approaches to address transportation issues, and promoting government transparency initiatives. He firmly believes in positioning District 23A as a premiere location for growing existing businesses and attracting new ones.

Shukoor obtained his Masters in Public Policy from American University. He and his wife Nabeela, a pharmacist, set up roots in Bowie upon getting married in 1988. Their two daughters attend Eleanor Roosevelt & Bowie High Schools.

Visit Shukoor’s campaign website – www.shukoor.com – updates will be added shortly.

For additional information:
Friends of AhmedKenneth Laureys (Campaign Chairman)
Email: k.laureys@comcast.net
Phone: 301 661 6682

Maryland House of Delegates/Campaign Update

Maryland House of Delegates/Campaign Update
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 3:17pm
Dear Friend,

Thank you for joining and/or becoming my Fan. I filed my candidacy for Maryland House of Delegates on March 10th (last Wednesday). Here is a quick update on our campaign:

1) Filed candidacy for Maryland House of Delegates (23A)
2) Raised $ 38,345 as of (1/13/2010)
3) Working on launching our website (probably by early next week).
4) Working on our voter file/database
5) Have few important meetings with key advisors this week
6) Annouce the candidacy early next week through press release
7) Have a kick-off event late April or early May
8) Begin weekly strategy/campaign meeting (working on a day/location)

We are hoping to update you every 3rd day or so. I would be looking for your advise and input as we continue listenting to the citizens and have leadership which will unleash the collective potential of all us in this tough economic times.

Thank you very much.

Please ask your friends/family/colleagues to join our Fan page. Have a wonderful day.

Shukoor