By Mazahir Salih, Johnson County As HF 2296 moves to the Iowa Senate, Johnson County residents should understand what is at stake. Johnson County is currently the only county in Iowa operating a Community ID program. This program did not appear overnight. Nearly 13 years ago, the Center for Worker Justice began raising questions about […]
Mazahir Salih
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Fear travels fast,’ but didn’t stop hundreds in Iowa City from protesting ICE, remembering Renee Good on Sunday
Despite freezing temperatures on Sunday, hundreds gathered on the University of Iowa Pentacrest and marched to the Ped Mall for a rally in response to the killing Renee Nicole Macklin Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis four days earlier. Good was serving as a legal observer of ICE and Border Patrol agents sent to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City rallies for immigrants, federal workers, the VA, health benefits, science and LGBTQ rights at Hands Off! protest of Trump administration
People in more than 1,300 cities across the country rallied on Saturday for Hands Off! protests against the sudden, brutal actions of the Trump administration. In Iowa, there were rallies in 17 cities, stretching from Red Oak to Davenport. In Cerro Gordo County, which Trump carried by 12 percentage points in November, more than 250 […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Mazahir Salih: Why I’m voting for Oliver
By Mazahir Salih, Iowa City Mayor Pro Tem, At-Large City Council member I am voting for Oliver Weilein in the March 4 special election because he can represent all of Iowa City. He understands our community — not just as an observer, but as someone who lives and works alongside us. Many immigrants are his […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Laura Bergus and Pauline Taylor finish first and second in District A primary, will be on November ballot in Iowa City
Current Iowa City councilmembers Laura Bergus and Pauline Taylor will be on the ballot for the council seat in District A in the November election after finishing first and second, respectively, in Tuesday’s primary election. Bergus finished far ahead of Taylor and the other candidate in the race, Tim Borchardt. Bergus received 58.4 percent of […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Mazahir Salih is stepping down as executive director of the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa
Mazahir Salih announced on Monday that she is stepping down as executive director of the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa (CWJ). “It has been an honor to serve in this role, and it has also taken a toll on me and my family. It’s time for me to step away and focus on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City’s Sudanese community joined worldwide protests against the coup in Sudan
More than 100 members of Iowa City’s Sudanese community gathered at the Pentacrest on Saturday to protest last week’s military coup in Sudan. “Today, democracy is under attack in Sudan,” Iowa City Mayor Pro Tem Mazahir Salih said Saturday. Salih became the first Sudanese American elected to public office in the United States when she […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Council hears two very different plans for how to spend federal pandemic relief funds
Both of the Iowa City Council’s two meetings on Tuesday had speakers addressing how the city should spend the $18.3 million in federal funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). During the council’s 4 p.m. work session, city manager Geoff Fruin presented a series of recommendations for what he called a “two-prong approach” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Shawn Harmsen launches his campaign for the District B seat on the Iowa City Council
“This is our neighborhood park,” Shawn Harmsen told the crowd gathered in Mercer Park Wednesday. He and his family had celebrated birthdays in the park, he’d coached Little League baseball there, and now Harmsen was at Mercer to kickoff his campaign for the open District B seat on the Iowa City Council. The event in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Mazahir Salih announces she is not running for reelection to the Iowa City Council
Iowa City Councilmember Mazahir Salih announced on Wednesday that she will not run for reelection. Salih, who was elected mayor pro tem by her fellow councilmembers in 2020, had told reporters earlier this year that she would run for the open seat in District B instead of seeking reelection to her current at-large seat. But […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘This is amazing,’ says mayor as Iowa City Council passes resolution to restructure ICPD and address other demands of the Iowa Freedom Riders
“I’m excited,” Mayor Bruce Teague said at the end of the Iowa City Council’s special formal session on Tuesday night. The almost four-and-a-half-hour meeting followed the city council’s two-hour-long normal formal meeting, and was devoted to developing a plan to address the social justice issues that have come to forefront as a result of local […]
Posted inCOVID-19
‘When is enough enough?’ Hundreds gather in Iowa City to remember George Floyd and other victims of racism and police violence
It was obvious before you reached the Pentacrest on Saturday that the protest rally scheduled for noon was going to be different. Clinton Street was blocked off from Washington to Jefferson, and a traffic barrier at Dubuque Street kept cars off Iowa Avenue. The streets weren’t blocked for a march, but to allow the hundreds […]
