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Obama campaign hires Ethiopian-American as field organizer

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

(Tadias Magazine) New York – The presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama has hired Selam Mulugeta, an Ethiopian American who formerly served as a Congressional Staffer and Special Assistant to Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), founder and Chair of the Congressional Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Caucus.

“I will be a Field Organizer in the Northern Virginia region”, Mulugeta told Tadias Magazine. She joined the Obama for America campaign in Virginia.

“This means that I would be doing community organizing at the grassroots level to increase the number of registered voters, and most importantly, to increase voter turn-out in November.”

Members of the Democratic support group Ethiopians for Obama (E4O), which is active in Virgina, often say that the November election may be decided by a few thousand votes, and the robust Ethiopian American presence in the state may end up being a deciding factor. Mulugeta agrees.

“In states like Virginia, Ethiopians are in a unique position to swing the vote. If all of us who are eligible to vote do so, then we could potentially win the state. The responsibility is tremendous, but doable. We can accomplish this by investing more time in the campaign and fully extending the reach of our influence”, Mulugeta says.

“I am a member of the steering committee for E40. I have always supported the organization, even from its days as a loose discussion group formed in someone’s living room. I am so proud of the work that has already been done, and even while I was on the Hill I was quite adamant about engaging its leaders. My role in E4O will be to empower Ethiopians to realize that they can support the Obama campaign by volunteering.”

10 thoughts on “Obama campaign hires Ethiopian-American as field organizer”

  1. Selam good job our sister, I am proud of you. And best of luck on your endeavor.

    But I have noticed that why Ethiopians don’t get involved and motivated to organize our selves to fight the weyane regime who are killing and harassing our families in Ethiopia. I mean some times some of us just like a poor popularity rather than sacrificing our life for the best to our interest. By the way I support the fact that everyone is engaging to support obama and deciding to elect him on the upcoming November election. However, while we strive to spend a lot of time on this, we tend to forget that we have a complex problem in Ethiopia that comes from the worst governance and bad policy of weyane. So why don’t we fight this by any means as well? I think some of us are just carry little minds that get satisfied by a simple drop peer pressure. I don’t think some of us contribute any time for our country to remove weyane as we contribute to Obama. This might come from fear and lack of awareness or may be it comes from being naïve to understand our priority. I mean let’s get ourselves involved to fight weyane as we do get involved for obama, which I strongly believe. I urge Selam and everyone else to get involved ourselves for our country in the removal of weyane by joining either the best party that are existed now or by finding our own way but to determine our sleves in the contribution of potential to fight the worst Ethiopian enemy including human of the earth that are organized them selves as weyane. Lets support Obama and do our own part to fight weyane as well.
    Thanks!

  5. This is a remarkable milestone for those of us who made the new land our home for the last 40 years. Selam Mulugetta state of being is an indication of the depth and breadth of the Ethiopians assimilating into the community at large.

    There is a new opportunity for all of us to be involved in the US political process, especially in the presidential (executive branch) election. Imagine a friend in the white House with clear and fair guidance to the state department and subsequently predisposed to adapting HR2003.

    The Ethiopian American Caucus, http://honda.house.gov/ethiopiacaucus.shtml could be
    one of the most powerful tool in advancing Ethiopia’s freedom cause. I ask for this caucus to be in council with the black caucus in formulating a platform of adopting HR2003 within the democratic party next month in Denver. Such a platform helps in shaping foreign policies just as it did in the 90s in fighting South African apartheid policies.

    Please contact the offices of the house of representative in the caucus and express your concerns why the US has 2 sets of standards when African rogue states. Instead, recommend the democratic party adopts in supporting HR2003 and stop subjective foreign policy measure one for Robert Mugabe and one for Meles Zenawi :

    Hon. Mike Honda (Founder, Chair)(202) 225 – 2631
    Hon. Jim Clyburn (202) 226 – 3210
    Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson(202) 225 – 8885
    Hon. Joe Wilson (202) 225 – 2452
    Hon. Diane Watson(202) 225 – 7084
    Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee(202) 225 – 3816
    Hon. Vic Snyder(202) 225 – 2506
    Hon. Zoe Lofgren(202) 225 – 3072
    Hon. Jim Moran(202) 225 – 4376
    Hon. Barbara Lee(202) 225 – 2661
    Hon. Chris Van Hollen(202) 225 – 5341

    Long Live Ethiopia

  6. Selam shoulders a unique role by way of represting Ethiopians in diaspora in the election of Obama, possibly the first black American president.I wish her sucess.

  8. Selam Selam Mulegetta
    What a good news for all of us, Ethiopians, to see one of us among the thinkers and shakers of American politics. Way to go siter Selam, and guess what, me and my family are behind you and the senator in his successful quest to the top. I am 100% confident he can make it. I live in Vergina, Ashbrun. Now that you have have my e-mail, let me know what little things in limitted I have I can do. It is participation folks that not standing on line and cheering that does the job.

    Thank you.

    Tesfaye Mengestu

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