Nima Rahimi Is a Democratic Party Delegate, Community Organizer, and Immigrant Rights Advocate
As a first-generation Iranian immigrant, Nima experienced discrimination early on in his life. In the aftermath of 9/11 he became a Democratic Party activist at 18 years old to fight for immigrant rights and peace instead of war. Nearly 20 years later, discrimination against Muslims and division in our country is as bad as ever, and Nima continues the fight for all people as a community organizer, attorney, California Democratic Party Delegate, and member of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission.
Nima is running for San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee in Assembly District 17 because he believes in our shared values of dignity, equality, and inclusion.
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Endorsements
Nima Rahimi is proud to have earned endorsements from the following leaders and organizations:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Congressman Ro Khanna
SEIU Local 87
National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW)
Firefighters Local 798
Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
San Francisco League of Conservation Voters
SF Building & Construction Trades Council
Northern California Carpenters
Brownie Mary Democratic Club
Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club
San Francisco United Democratic Club
YIMBY Action
San Francisco Young Democrats (SFYD)
Chinese American Democratic Club
Ed Lee Democratic Club
Bay Area Iranian American Democrats
Arab Grocers Association
District 2 Democratic Club
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma
State Senator Scott Wiener
Assemblymember David Chiu
San Francisco Mayor London Breed
Supervisor Ahsha Safai
Supervisor Catherine Stefani
City College Trustee Thea Selby
Bita Daryabari, Founder and President of Pars Equality Center
Mario Paz, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Family Resource Center
Elica Vafaie, President Emeritus Iranian American Bar Association NorCal
*all titles are for identification purposes only.
“Progress is only possible when we bring people together. I’m running to advocate for inclusion over division and push our Democratic Party to set the political agenda in San Francisco and beyond.”
What is “the DCCC”?
Nima is running to serve on the board of our local Democratic Party for San Francisco County, officially called the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee — or “the DCCC” for short. This board is responsible for registering Democrats to vote, representing San Francisco Democrats at the local, state, and national level, making endorsements in local elections, and supporting Democratic candidates for office in San Francisco and beyond. You can learn more about our San Francisco Democratic Party here.
About Nima Rahimi
I am a first generation Iranian American raised in a Sufi Muslim household. My parents grew up in poverty in Iran, with no running water or electricity and they sacrificed everything to give me a better life.
After moving to the United States in their early 20s, my parents struggled and faced discrimination. My dad lost his longtime fast food job to a subordinate and my mom was a bank teller for 16 years, only to lose her job when she was diagnosed with cancer. A labor union saved our family when my dad got a job as a mail carrier with union pay and union benefits — including healthcare. We depended on my dad’s healthcare and his paycheck to survive my mom’s cancer, his heart attack, and his unsuccessful battle with leukemia.
When I was in high school, 9/11 forced me to face discrimination against Muslims head on. George W. Bush put Iran in his “axis of evil” and peers casually called me Osama bin Laden. Instead of accepting the status quo, I joined the Bay Area Iranian American Democrats. We passed the first of its kind resolution at the California Democratic Party Convention to urge diplomacy with Iran over military force.
Today, as an elected member of the California Democratic Party, I sit on the same committee that passed that resolution over a decade ago, which makes fighting for more progressive and inclusive values a lot easier than it was as an 18 year old outsider.
My parents’ difficult immigrant experience helped develop in me a grit and determination that only comes from overcoming life’s challenges, and blazed a path that allowed me to become a lawyer. My family history is why I fight to tear down the barriers facing our immigrant communities and for all people no matter who they are, where they are from, or how they identify.
Change doesn’t come easy. To win, we have to be activists at the grassroots level and at the highest levels of power. I am running to uphold our progressive Democratic Party values, and I will fight for a San Francisco Democratic Party that advocates for dignity, equality, and inclusion in our community and in the halls of government from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
In Solidarity,
-Nima
Core Issues
Guarantee healthcare as a human right.
Fight for a Green New Deal because climate change is the biggest threat facing our planet.
Tackle homelessness with housing-first policies that provide tailored care, mental health services, addiction treatment, job training, and more.
Address the housing crisis with increased funding and streamlining for affordable housing, increased density, and better renter protections.
Invest in public transportation, modernize our rail systems, support innovative green mobility options, and save lives with protected bike lanes.
Criminal justice reform.
Service & Background
Nima is a Commissioner on the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission and has helped lead special hearings on the crisis at the border, the status of DACA, the Trump travel ban on Muslim majority nations, and on the Yemen Civil War. He has advocated for abolishing ICE and to expand our state’s sanctuary laws to further protect our at-risk immigrants. Nima has served on the Iranian American Bar Association board for the past seven years and on the board of Pars Equality Center's Generation Plus for the past four years.
As an elected member of the California Democratic Party for the past three years, Nima serves on the resolutions committee and votes on value statements of the California Democratic Party. He has authored, co-authored, co-sponsored, and/or voted in favor of hundreds of resolutions representing our progressive California and San Francisco values.
Nima is a transportation policy attorney at the micromobility company SPIN. As a senior attorney, he has helped the company embrace strong labor values and the role of labor unions as protectors of worker rights, wages, and benefits. Nima led SPIN to be the first company of its kind to advocate for unionization of its workers and reject the gig economy workforce model.
Nima’s father passed away soon after Nima graduated from law school and his mother still lives in San Jose working as an extended care teacher. Nima is engaged to be married to his fiancé, Alex, in 2020. He plays soccer in a local league, and hopes to return to performing in the local San Francisco improv scene when time allows.
In the News
Fighting Against Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban
“When Trump first ordered the ban in 2017, Rahimi immediately headed to San Francisco International Airport to help organize protests. He also helped devise a system for lawyers and family members to communicate with visa-holding travelers who had landed in limbo.”
Advocating for Workers
“SPIN has long differentiated itself with our workforce policies, choosing (an employee) model and local hiring over independent contractors and staffing agencies. We believe investing in everyone from our headquarters to our warehouses leads to a safer, more reliable service,” Nima Rahimi, senior policy counsel at Spin.
Transit First for a Better Future
"The private sector was also represented at the event. ‘We’re pushing hard for transit,’ said Nima Rahimi, senior policy counsel for SPIN scooters, a sponsor of Transit Week. ‘Private mobility companies must be part of the solution.’"