By CHARLES RICHARDS
Mustafa Hashmi, 19, voted in his first election on Friday, joining his brother, Abraham, 20, in early voting for the May 14 city elections in which their father, Dr. AJ Hashmi, is seeking the District 7 seat to the Paris City Council.
Abraham Hashmi, 20 (left), and Mustafa Hashmi, 19, participate Friday in early voting for the May 14 city elections in Paris. (Photo by Charles Richards, eParisExtra.com)
“It’s actually my second election,” Abraham Hashmi said. “I voted in the general election in November.”
They are students at the University of Texas at Dallas – Abraham is majoring in molecular biology and Mustafa is majoring in biology. Finals week is coming up, so they brought their books.
Through the week, they live in Highland Park with their mother, Rizma Hashmi, and a younger brother. On the weekends, they all head back to Paris.
They lived in metropolitan areas before their parents moved to Paris from Tampa, Fla. Both their parents are doctors, and their father was brought here in 2006 to turn the cardiology department of Paris Regional Medical Center into a top-notch facility.
“I’ve had a good time here,” Abraham said. “I spend my summers here, working at the hospital, volunteering over there. Paris is a smaller place, but I’ve come to love it. It’s a simple life. We have friends here, and we have a good time whenever we come.”
Mustafa added: “I love this city. Paris has all the necessities and everything. You don’t have all the traffic problems.”
Neither expressed surprise at their father’s decision to run for the Paris City Council.
Both have involved themselves in their father’s campaign, going door to door, saying something like: “I’m trying to spread information about my dad. Let me tell you a little bit about him,” Abraham said.
Some people may wonder if their father, who is head of cardiology at the hospital, has time for the city council.
Not his sons.
“”If he feels there is a need for improvement, he likes to do it,” Abraham said. “I think it’s a question of time management, that’s what it comes down to. Whatever Dad decides to get involved in, he likes to get hands on.”
Mustafa added: “I think he’ll do a great job once he’s elected. He’s a very dedicated person — both to us and whatever he becomes involved in.”
—
Send questions or comments about this article to
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
follow: RSS
