Penticton city councillor throws hat into provincial political ring

PENTICTON – A city councillor is in the running for the B.C. NDP nomination in Penticton.

Coun. Tarik Sayeed, who has been formally approved by the B.C. NDP executive to seek the nomination in the Penticton riding, says he felt he had to show he was not only seeking the nomination but worthy of it as well.

“I took a grass root level approach to connect with hundreds of citizens over the past several months,” he says.

Sayeed says the message he received was you don’t need to be a career politician to be a MLA, adding citizens need someone who will listen to them and fight for them.

He comes from a strong political family, according to a media release. His grandfather was a freedom fighter and his uncle helped conceive the constitution of Bangladesh, with several other relatives holding political office as mayor, MLA and MP. He has degrees from New Jersey Institute of Technology and executive certifications in management and leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Waterloo.

The Penticton city councillor is a board member with the Penticton District Community Resource Society and the Penmar Community Arts Society. Sayeed also has 12 years management experience working for B.C.’s third largest credit union and is a nominee for this year’s Penticton Business Leader of the Year Award.

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