When I was 13 years old in Aleppo, I woke up one night to a secret police agent with a Kalashnikov rummaging through my shelves looking for banned books.
I did not immigrate to the United States to watch extremist state legislators attempt to emulate the policies of the
When I was 13 years old in Aleppo, I woke up one night to a secret police agent with a kalashnikov rummaging through my shelves looking for banned books.
I did not immigrate to this great country to watch Republicans try to emulate the policies of the dictatorship I escaped.
I am horrified and disgusted to hear that Jewish students at the University of Michigan woke up to find rabidly antisemitic flyers on their porches in Ann Arbor this morning, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.
I stand firmly against antisemitism.
I am the first Syrian-American to ever be nominated to the MI State House — I am uniquely familiar with the dark path to authoritarianism.
Analysts say that without my seat, there is no path to a Dem. majority in the MI State House. Please chip in.
When I was 13 years old in Aleppo, I woke up to a secret police agent with a Kalashnikov rummaging through my shelves looking for banned books.
I'm running for State House in Michigan because I'm tired of extremists trying to emulate the authoritarianism that I left behind in
10 years ago, Bashar al-Assad blew up my parents' house while they were still inside.
Yesterday, Assad's former best friend in Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, endorsed Tudor Dixon and will campaign with her next week.
I am so disgusted I can't even express it in words.
If you are a resident of District 54 (Bloomfield Twp, Bloomfield Hills, Auburn Hills, Orion Twp, Oakland Twp) and your child received this flyer in Ann Arbor today please reach out to my campaign via DM or email to tell me how to best support you and your family.
Thank you all so much for your overwhelming support. I have so much hope for Michigan and this country I now call home.
Please join my team and follow my campaign below!
College students at Michigan State, high schoolers at Oxford, and now young children playing at a park in Rochester Hills.
We are failing our children.
I'm officially the Democratic nominee for Michigan's 54th State House District.
I am immensely grateful for the grassroots community support our campaign has built (and not having a primary opponent)!
My name is Shadia Martini. I am fighting for the most flippable seat in the Michigan State House. Your contribution below will go towards the defense of freedom in Michigan.
I am completely heartbroken to hear of the passing of Sam Woll. She poured her heart into organizing and fighting for a better Michigan.
I cannot even begin to fathom that she has been taken from us in such an abominable way. I am praying intensely for her family.
I was 13 when the Syrian secret police, armed with machine guns, rummaged through my shelves for banned books. A decade later, I became an assistant teacher as part of my mandatory public employment.
I was paid less than $100 a month and "big brother" was still watching me.
Some Republican candidates are trying to backtrack their positions on abortion. Why?
Because polling has made it explicitly clear that the majority of Democrats, Independents, and a sizable chunk of sensible Republican voters oppose extreme restrictions on reproductive freedom.
This is a picture of me, newly arrived to the USA from Syria.
I was excited for a new life in a democratic country with strong institutions.
I would've never guessed that 30 years later, I would be running for office to stop anti-democracy sycophants from tearing it all down.
An 8 year-old was shot in the face during the Rochester Hills attack yesterday and is fighting for his life.
His mother was shot in the stomach. She was 7 months pregnant.
The unborn child did not survive.
There truly are no words for this depravity.
As an immigrant running for office, I'm often asked why I chose to make America my home over 30 years ago.
As a young girl, I watched bullets rain into my house from security forces gunning down peaceful protesters. I woke up in the middle of the night to armed secret police
30 years ago, I arrived to Southeast Michigan from Syria, seeking a new life in a free democracy.
Today, I was endorsed by
@GovWhitmer
, the fearless leader of the state I now call home.
It's surreal.
If you're frustrated by what's going on in our Supreme Court, fight to elect a Democratic majority in your state legislature.
Codification of reproductive rights is on the line, especially in states like Michigan, where we have a trigger abortion ban.
As a woman and immigrant who has operated three successful small businesses for decades, I'm running to expel the myth that Republicans have a leg up on economic policy.
When I worked at a community charity in Syria, where there was a full abortion ban, it was common to hear of infants left at mosques, discarded in dumpsters, and thrown down chimneys.
I know what a world without abortion rights looks like.
Women in Michigan deserve better.
An open learning environment didn't exist. Critical thinking could land you in prison. Books were banned.
This is the disaster that anti-intellectual authoritarianism inflicts on an education system.
I won't stand by as extremists seek to promote these ideas in America.
UPDATE: University of Michigan officials have proactively reached out to my campaign regarding the distribution of repugnant antisemitic flyers in Ann Arbor yesterday.
The incident has been reported to the UM campus police, Ann Arbor police, and the City of Ann Arbor.
I have paid the price for speaking out: I am now wanted by the Syrian Ministry of Education for speaking up against the crimes of the regime.
I will not be silenced. Please contribute to my campaign to support my run for Michigan's State House.
In a poll from the Detroit News this week, 80% of Michiganders, including 63% of REPUBLICANS, said they support abortion in cases of rape or incest.
Michigan's abortion ban does not reflect the views of our state. I am running for the majority-making seat needed to overturn it.
A contender to be the top officeholder of Michigan is being praised for aligning with Vladimir Putin, the man who made a sport out of target bombing hospitals in my hometown, Aleppo.
Those that have lectured for years about how school gun violence is caused strictly by mental health issues are now advocating against mental healthcare in schools.
From 1992 — the year I immigrated to this great country from Syria.
In Syria, the walls had ears. As a young girl, the secret police, armed with Kalashnikovs, raided my house looking for banned books in the middle of the night. I witnessed a massacre of peaceful protesters, as
I grew up in a country with an abortion ban, where it was common to find newborns left on the doorsteps of churches and mosques, discarded in dumpsters, and thrown down chimneys.
There is nothing "confusing and extreme" about Michigan's reproductive freedom proposal.
THREAD: I want to tell a story that happened many years ago in 1979 Aleppo, Syria.
A story of one of my first experiences with gun violence when I was just a 13 year-old girl.
Today is my birthday!
I'm not going to reveal my age by telling you how old this picture of me in Syria is, but I will ask you to donate exactly $57 to my campaign, for no reason in particular of course.
I was 13 years old when bullets rained into my home as the Syrian regime massacred peaceful protesters just outside my door.
I immigrated to Michigan to live a safer life.
First Oxford, now Michigan State: our children continue to suffer. Enough.
I spoke to
@MichiganAdvance
about the bombing of my family home by Bashar al-Assad.
My message to Tudor Dixon and other Republicans campaigning with Assad-apologist Tulsi Gabbard: joining hands with a war crimes denier is despicable.
Thank you to the Jerusalem Post for including my words on this issue.
Jewish students at the University of Michigan should never have to weather hate, especially right before Rosh Hashanah celebrations.
Yesterday, Democrats lost the State House majority in Michigan after two members won seats in different elected office. The majority won't be restored until after special elections.
I'm the only Democrat in the race for the most flippable State House seat in Michigan — I need
Respectfully Ms. Dixon, the Independent voters who you're targeting with this ploy are smarter than this.
I would know, I've actually been knocking on their doors.
And just like that you can vote for Gretchen Whitmer’s abortion agenda & still vote against her.
Gretchen, time to stop hiding behind your BS ads.
I’m here to clean up your mess, turn our schools around, stop your crime wave, fix the roads, & bring back the jobs you cost us.
It's official: I am unopposed in my run to become the Democratic nominee for Michigan HD-54.
In 2022, after a highly competitive primary, I became the first Syrian-American woman to be nominated by any party to the Michigan State legislature.
What was ahead: an uphill battle in
UPDATE: University of Michigan officials have proactively reached out to my campaign regarding the distribution of repugnant antisemitic flyers in Ann Arbor yesterday.
The incident has been reported to the UM campus police, Ann Arbor police, and the City of Ann Arbor.
My opponent has already received thousands of dollars from the Devos family. This race decides whether or not Democrats will flip the Michigan State House for
@GovWhitmer
.
Your donation of $20 could help determine Michigan's future. I'm counting on you.
When I was 13 years old in Aleppo, I woke up one night to a secret police agent with a kalashnikov rummaging through my shelves looking for banned books.
I did not immigrate to this great country to watch Republicans try to emulate the policies of the dictatorship I escaped.
Kristina Karamo is the next GOP chair after three rounds of voting and an all-day Convention. She won with 57.82% with 10 minutes remaining before the Lansing Center's hard cutoff of 8 p.m.
This morning, I was told the Michigan Republican Party is flooding the airwaves with $200000, yes, $200000 in TV ads against me for the next two weeks.
The Republican Party has realized how important state legislative races are, especially in critical states like Michigan.
The next day, my family filled up a 2-gallon bucket full of bullets that were fired into my home. I remember that day every time I see another shooting on the news.
No child anywhere should have to endure the trauma of gun violence.
Daily Kos is proud to endorse 20 candidates running for the Michigan and Pennsylvania state houses—two chambers that finally have un-gerrymandered maps. Democrats can flip both of them this year
The majority-making seat I'm running for in the MI State House could be the determining vote on reproductive rights in our state.
I am endorsed by
@emilyslist
@VoteChoice
@mippadvocates
.
Please donate $20 to protect our fundamental rights in Michigan.
BREAKING: The Michigan Board of Canvassers has rejected the abortion ballot initiative.
Analysts have said that the seat I'm running for could be the DECIDING VOTE on abortion rights codification in Michigan.
Please rush $20 to protect our rights.
Today's vote on Proposal One in Ohio is yet another example of how extreme right-wing state legislatures are attempting to subvert our democratic processes.
Proposal One would change the vote requirement for a proposed state constitutional amendment from 50% to 60%.
If passed,
The 54th State House district will be one of the most competitive races in Michigan come November. This win is just the first step. Please join me in the fight for this seat that's critical for a Democratic majority!
YARD SIGN / VOLUNTEER / DONATE:
I cannot thank you all enough for the outpouring of support this morning.
I want to congratulate my primary opponents Gary Gerson and Stephanie Fakih for a well-fought, close race.
I look forward to building a broad coalition to ensure this critical seat is blue come November.
No one deserves the realities of an abortion ban like the one we lived under in Syria.
I am determined to never let it happen in Michigan.
PLEASE vote YES on Prop 3 and for pro-choice candidates running for Michigan's state legislature.
Officials told me that the flyers were placed in off-campus but traditionally student-populated neighborhoods and contained vile conspiracy theories with a QR code link to an antisemitic hate site.
A full investigation is ongoing by police.
TODAY: Analysts have placed my race in the TOP 3 seats that will decide whether or not Democrats flip Michigan's State House.
The Michigan Republican Party is funneling $200,000 (yes you read that right) to my opponent ahead of Nov. 8.
I need your help.
I encourage students and families of students affected by this incident to reach out to UM Student Life, which is providing support to those impacted.
It's my sincere hope that my alma mater continues to take incidents of hate seriously.
As the protesters got closer to the headquarters, calling for the release of the detainees, a secret police official shouted not to come any closer. The protesters refused, and kept marching.
This was their death sentence.
The secret police opened fire on the protesters, just yards away from my home. Bullets were flying everywhere, lodging themselves into our wooden shutters. My family was forced to hide in our bathroom.
To this day, no one knows how many were killed.
After prayer, a congregation from the local mosque went to protest against the secret police for the release of arbitrarily detained civilians.
They marched from the mosque to the secret police headquarters in Aleppo, violating the bans on both assembly and protest.
A swastika and other extremist symbols were sprayed on fraternity houses in Ann Arbor this week.
Let's be clear: this is a hate crime.
It is reprehensible that Jewish students continue to be targets of antisemitic hate.
The DLCC identified my race as one of the most important state legislative races in the nation. I'm counting on your support to get me over the finish line in this swing seat.
Analysts have said that my race will likely decide the legislative majority in Michigan's State House.
I desperately need your help. Please pitch in anything that you can to fight the $200000 being thrown against me.
The honor was all mine! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak at my fundraiser Rep. Stevens. With your help, we WILL make Michigan's State House blue this November.
Honored to be a special guest at
@ShadiaMartini
’s fundraiser in West Bloomfield today. We must show up for Shadia on November 8th and flip the State House! 💙
I am the only woman in Michigan's 54th State House race to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood.
It's now up to our state legislature to codify reproductive rights. Tomorrow, vote for candidates committed to that fight at the ballot box.
The thread has torn. The Michigan Court of Appeals has just ruled that MI’s 83 county prosecutors can now begin enforcing the abortion ban. But note that the Dem prosecuting attorneys have committed to refuse to enforce the ban, and the injunction still applies to my department.
For the first time in years, we have a state legislature controlled by a majority who are more interested in protecting our children from gun violence over obstructing safety legislation for special interests groups.
I have faith that they will take action.
Keeping our children safe means implementing gun-violence prevention laws and ensuring quality mental health support in our schools.
Advocating against both of these things means exposing students to harm.
With 12 hours remaining, we are $1,000 away from our end of quarter fundraising goal. Your help is needed to build our momentum for Michigan's most flippable State House district!
Your $5, $25, or $50 contribution could decide control of the MI House.
Remembering and honoring those who fought and sacrificed for our country.
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." — Elmer Davis
@redd4lfe1
Michigan State House 54 - most of Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Lake Orion, most of Auburn Hills, and two precincts in Oakland Township ❤️