Kabir Wins Re-Election to College Park City Council

Councilman Dr Fazlul Kabir won in his third run for College Park city councilman at the November 3, 2015 elections. Earning 722 votes, he won the most votes among all 16 council candidates across the city’s four districts. The soft-spoken father of two young men is an adjunct Professor at University of Maryland and will represent College Park’s District 1 for another two years.
 
Dr Kabir and his wife are of Bangladeshi roots. Kabir completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering from England. The family spent time in Toronto, Canada where their boys Arif and Sameer were born. Kabir was assigned to a job site in Toronto for a research job. They immigrated to the United States in 1998 to move closer to family in Arlington, VA. 
The older son, Arif, would ride the bus to College Park everyday to come to the Dar-us-Salam Hifdh School. The two-hour daily commute was hard on the young student. In 2003, the Kabirs decided to make the city of College Park their home.
 
The houses were affordable and the college town was a good place to raise a young family. Now their daughter-in-law and son have also made College Park their home.
 
“I am not a seasoned politician, I never thought [about running] ten years ago,” shares Kabir. He was one of five candidates running in District 1 in 2009, and lost the seat by 81 votes. In 2011, he won the city council seat by two votes. This year his signs were on every other lawn in District 1 and he knocked on over 2500 doors in his 5000 home district. His hyper local daily blog, KabirCares.org, is filled with testimonials from District 1 neighbors whose trust he has earned with years of responsive communication and by faithfully representing their views and North College Park.
 
District 1 is mostly a residential neighborhood district and the residents don’t want huge developments that don’t serve them, says Kabir. He will be focusing on bringing more amenities to his district such as a new community center in North College Park, and more services for seniors and youth. He plans on working with the Sate Highway Authority to build ADA compliant wide sidewalks on both sides of Route 1 in North College Park. The bike icons painted on Edgewood Road are part of Kabir’s campaign promise to bring the Bike Share program to North College Park.
 
Kabir was instrumental in starting the resident run Farmers Market held on Saturdays in the REI shopping center parking lot. 
 
He did face some difficulty in convincing the council, as there is a Farmer’s Market already in place in downtown College Park. “Any time you come up with a new project, there are questions about funding and for good reason. Skeptics wondered whether another farmer’s market would survive,” he explained.  
 
Now everyone is onboard. District 1 residents appreciate it, as they wanted an easy access to locally made goods and produce. “Most residents don’t want to go to downtown because of the traffic. This is close to homes,” he says.
 
The city is rapidly developing. There is the possibility of the FBI relocating its headquarters to the Greenbelt Metro and more development in downtown. In the Hollywood area Kabir is pushing hard for strategic changes. “Route 1 in north College Park is the long forgotten main street of the city and, unfortunately, is not getting sufficient attention from the city, local and state governments. Route 1 in North College Park needs smart development with more quality mixed-use businesses in place of the abandoned and vacant stores. It also needs walk-able sidewalks so businesses are accessible to residents,” says Kabir.
 
Eying the two corners of North of Edgewood, he says that intersection will be widened. “We have a plan concept and have secured funding for the design work. The old house on Edgewood as you enter the neighborhood is now owned by the city.” Gateway Park is in the plans— the goal is to be able to walk from shops like the Dunkin Donuts to the park, changing the look and feel of the district.  
 
His political career started out in neighborhood service. He spent time getting to know the neighbors while volunteering at the North College Park Civic Association.  From the free snow-shoveling brigade to annual coat drives to community clean ups every program gave him a taste of public service and he was hooked. “I have found each of these activities extremely rewarding and any opportunity to help someone in need is an honor that I hope to continue to have. The desire to serve my neighbors is what drives me to write daily on my blog KabirCares.org,” he says. 
 
“There is goodness in my neighbors. They appreciate the good work –sincerely working to make lives better and the neighborhood safer to live in. Despite the negative images on TV, they have faith in anyone who can serve them, it doesn’t affect me as I work on very local issues,” he says about the anti-Muslim bigotry that is rising in the country. He hopes that the Muslims in College Park will continue to support city events and intermingle with their neighbors.
 
So how does a non-career politician handle City hall meetings and win the seat for three terms? By providing quality service, being prepared for council meetings and by thoroughly and honestly looking after his residents’ point of views— this has helped him gain the trust of his constituents.  He says his vote largely reflects his constituents’ sentiments — even if he does not personally agree and he has often voted against the majority in the council. 
 
His faith helps him to remain calm and listen first before jumping to the conclusions.  “My faith teaches me to serve my neighbors and to make their lives better. I cannot be selfish. That drives me,” says Kabir.