Safraaz Alli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Alli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
I am a Guyanese immigrant living in the United States permanently since 1990, with a family tradition of law enforcement and security services. Over the last 3 decades in my career I have seen firsthand the ravages of poverty, inequality, and crime. After the nation was shaken by the events of 9/11, xenophobia drove me from my life in New York and my family settled in Central Florida where I have worked in security since. I have grown deep roots in the orlando community, and found its most vulnerable citizens to be struggling the worst. As mayor, I will prioritize programs to address homelessness, addiction, drug and human trafficking and most importantly affordable housing for young families and retired people.
Of course there are many great men and women through history that I look up to and follow some examples of. They say never meet your heroes but many of the people and ultimately, the person I admire most, are all regular people who have touched my life and shared their lives with me. My closest advisor, most trusted friend, and greatest influence is a man from maine I met in 2014. Bernard Cough, when I first met him, was making barely over minimum wage leading a team of detailers at a rental car agency. In the 9 years since he has grown to be a banker, a family man, a community leader, and my go to resource for a wider variety of information than I thought it was possible to know. The man has answered my call and been an unbiased voice of reason, whether in support or criticism. His advice and example will be a driving force in my administration.
I am not a lifelong politician. I am just a regular citizen from poverty, and I believe that in order to help the people, you must be one of the people.
There were several national events and tragedies which I witnessed growing up but of course the one which most immediately and profoundly changed the course of my life was the attacks on 9/11/2001. I was 22 years old. As a young Muslim in New York, I found myself at the receiving end of every level of racism and xenophobia imaginable. I gained from that struggle a great understanding of fear and desperation. In the wake of these events my family relocated to Orlando, and I became certain I wanted to work in security or law enforcement to help people feel safe.
I worked at an airport bookstore in JFK Airport for 4 years, eventually becoming a supervisor. I loved the opportunity to work in an environment which brought my love of historical and fantasy literature to life.
That means being the voice of my citizens, guiding the various committees, councils, and boards of directors in my scope to provide the best this city has to offer its people.
Budget accountability, and transparency. Making sure that the people of orlando are taken care of and living happily. Orlando has a fantastic tradition of hospitality and tourism but happy people make better hosts.
Following every penny of that budget, and making sure that every resource available to us is used to it's greatest potential. Most municipal governments rely on a myriad of committees and attendance of those committee meetings should be a top priority.
The mayor and city council must be cooperative and keep the greatest transparency with one another. Tracking and reporting of cost centers, review of committee reports, and public outreach to truly hear the voices of our people
I love the eclectic and global culture of our city and all the people that bring this one of a kind city to life. There are communities of all kinds within the one and it's breathtaking. Our diversity is wonderful and equality in all of our communities is paramount to me.
A woman in a hot-air balloon is lost, so she shouts to a man below, "Excuse me. I promised a friend I would meet him, but I don't know where I am."
"You're at 31 degrees, 14.57 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude," he replies.
"You must be a Democrat."
"I am. How did you know?"
"Because everything you told me is technically correct, but the information is useless, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've been no help."
"You must be a Republican."
"Yes. How did you know?"
"You've risen to where you are due to a lot of hot air, you made a promise you couldn't keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Alli submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on December 8, 2022.
Born in Berbice Guyana and grew up in New York City and Orlando Florida. I have seen how politicians make promises they never keep and it's time for that to change. My upbringing has allowed me to know what people need and what changes needs to be made.
I am very passionate about preventing police brutality, eliminating homelessness and improving unemployment. It's time for these issues to be addressed and fixed once and for all.
Eliminating homelessness and establishing a better relationship with law enforcement and the community
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Alli submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on March 3, 2021.
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