10-04-23 Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan on overcoming racism; Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas on Arab inclusion S3E23

The Ray Hanania Radio Show is broadcast on the US Arab Radio Network on WNZK AM 690 Radio in Detroit and on WDMV AM 700 Radio in Washington DC, sponsored by Arab News, the Voice of a Changing Region at ArabNews.com

This week, we speak with two fascinating guests each with compelling stories to share about their political careers and their efforts to make government inclusive to everyone including Arab Americans, Pakistanis, Muslims and all minorities.

1 - Farrah Khan, mayor of Irvine California ... Mayor Khan has been a groundbreaking leader, making history in 2020 as the first woman of color and the first Muslim woman to lead a large city in the United States. Re-elected in 2022, she has continually been a trailblazer in policy and public service. Mayor Khan’s commitment to inclusiveness and equality mirrors the core values of the Arab and Muslim community.

She is a major speaker at the ADC Alex Odeh Conference in Anaheim, California Oct. 6 and 7.

2 - Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer, one of the highest vot-getters in Cook County and one of Illinois' most popular elected officials. Pappas has been treasurer since 1998 after serving several terms on the Cook County Board -- Cook County has more than 6 million residents ... Pappas recognized that many ethnic Americans were not able to engage the government system and decided to do something about it by translating her service website at CookCountyTreasurer.com into 127 languages and she specifically reached out to the ethnic communities that are th eleast engaged in the government process, like Arab Americans, hired people from their commuities to act as liaisons and initiated programs to help them to fully enjoy the benefits of their governments. In the past six months, Pappas initiated a tax overpayment refund program and noted that she has helped Arab American tax payers apply to receive as much as $15 million in overpayment refunds.

The Ray Hanania Radio Show, Season 3 Episode 23, Oct. 4, 2023 is broadcast on the US Arab Radio Network on WNZK AM 690 Radio in Detroit and on WDMV AM 700 Radio in Washington DC, sponsored by Arab News, the Voice of a Changing Region at ArabNews.com

You can listen to a podcast of this show and past shows by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow