Did you see that headline and read it all with the long “A” sound? A maan with a plaan? Or all with the short “A”. ShAhAn Rizvi? If you did the former, you’re probably right-handed. If the latter–probably left-handed! No, that’s not true. But it would be neat if it were true, right? The possibility is a beautiful thing. And Shahan sees the possibilities–good ones–in, it would appear, everything. He told us what he hopes to accomplish in his second go-round as a member of the Howard County State Democratic Central Committee!

If Madonna was right–and as her biggest fan, Colleen Morgenthau, I say she always is–then music really does bring the people together. When I talked to Shahan on 2022’s excuse for a meeting, Zoom, he told me how he got started rapping! His work has garnered over 10,000 streams, on various music streaming platforms and over 50,000 views too!

“I’m really pursuing the rap thing. I have five studio productions out there. It’s been a great outlet for me,” Shahan said, closing his eyes with gratitude. He said that some of his rap output has been during the pandemic, and I could tell that this people-person appreciated being able to communicate with an audience during a time when the ways in which we connect with each other have been severely limited.

“We need to hear people’s stories. We need to hear the stories of the LGBTQ+ community, for example,”

I asked Shahan what his official title in his current life as a HoCo politico was.

Related: We talked to local restaurateur, Vince Culotta, about the hottest place to eat in HoCo!

“I am chairman of the Howard County Democratic Central Committee, and I’ve had this title since June of 2020.”

I do love a succinct answer.

Shahan spent many of his early years in Prince George’s County. When his father’s accounting business took off, he says, his family moved to the Howard County side of Laurel, where his mother still lives. He lives in Columbia with his 5 year old daughter, Shanzay. He studied undergrad first at UMBC but ultimately finished his undergrad degree from University of Maryland, College Park.

He graduated with a degree in Government and Politics. He got his Masters in Acquisition Supply Chain Management. I didn’t ask him to explain what that was, though!

Shahan’s “formative years”, as he called them, were spent in Prince George’s County. But in 2005, he moved to Howard County, where his activist days began! Well, let’s back up a minute. When Shahan won Vice President of his fifth-grade class, he had to give a victory speech. That’s when he got the politics bug! And, because he’s all about unity, the fellow running against him came to his victory party. He kind of had to, though, because Shahan’s mom was babysitting him–but still!

Shahan’s late father was really the one who he looked to as his political career has taken off.

“My dad got involved with a lot of South Asian uncles who were getting involved in politics around 2005, 2006,” he told me. He accompanied his father to a lot of meetings and felt like they needed some younger voices. While they stayed focused on activities and issues inside the mosque, Shahan wanted to be outside. He wanted the South Asian Muslim community to get to know other communities.

“I wanted us to find out how we can understand each other and come together,” he told me over our Zoom interview. He said he loved working with Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia, especially its leader, Rabbi Grossman. He also told me he was proud to have worked with several South-Asian based organizations and communities (his parents are Indian & Pakistani).

As the Chair of Howard County’s Democratic State Central Committee, Shahan’s mission is to get Dems elected. As part of that he’s led a new unity among the local Democratic clubs like the Columbia Democratic Club and the Ellicott City and Western Howard Democratic Club.

“If you’re a registered Democrat, my job is to reach out to you, and I’ve also got to be where Democratic candidates running for races in the state look to for resources,” he told me closing his eyes and nodding. That’s something he does when he raps too! These are two things he loves, clearly. Part and parcel of getting Dems elected to Shahan, is party unity. One person, in particular Shahan wants to get (re-)elected is County Executive Calvin Ball. He said he also wants to ensure a smooth transition for the new Central Committee that will be elected in July (pending court decision).

I asked Shahan what he’d do with a $10,000 gift to Central Committee. He said he’d make a down payment on new office space. Earlier the day we talked, I’d been listening to a Kid Rock song. (very random choice for a middle-aged Jewish woman from Queens, I know). “All Summer Long”. In that song, Kid Rock sings, “It’s the simple things in life/Like when and where”. Right now Central Committee has no office, because the lease ended in the previous space and it did not make sense occupying physical space during peak pandemic times.

These days, I thought, after my conversation with Shahan, physical space is…well, it’s up in the air. But it’s still so important. And Shahan agreed. He said he thought having a physical presence in the community was so important for Central Committee.

Shahan said that one of the main things Central Committee does under the broad scope of “get Democrats elected” is to make sure the community knows what Central Committee is up to. Of course, these days that happens largely through social media channels. He keeps in close contact with local Democratic club presidents too. He knows elected officials are busy people, but he keeps in touch with them too. Ideally, Shahan told me, he’d like to see a county Democratic caucus. He said this could be a space for local elected Dems to talk about what’s going on locally Dem-wise: what do electeds want, what problems do they see, what’s going on? It would also be he said, where competing priorities could be hashed out.

As someone on a group WhatsApp with seven besties from high school, I Ioved hearing that Shahan and the presidents of the local Democratic clubs have a group WhatsApp chat going.

And: See what Del. Eric Ebersole (D-12) told us about being a legislator in HoCo.

I had to know more about the rap, though. Shahan told me that in high school his classmates would get things going by banging on tables. He said rap his been a vital creative outlet for him, especially during the pandemic. He’s gotten five studio productions done during the Pandemic. If anyone could know less about music than me, it would be surprising. But I heard that and I knew: he really cares about this, he’s worked hard at it, and it’s going to go somewhere.

“It means a lot to me that you wanted to write an article on me,” Shahan told me. I’m not going to lie to you, readers, I got a little choked up at this. His genuine humility is so charming, and apparently, gets old Jewish ladies misty! Shahan said his rap songs are often about topics very personal to him, like his father’s recent passing, his past relationships, and being a dad.

As regular readers of this site know, Robert and I are big on LGBTQ+ advocacy. Before I’d even had a chance to recover from that humble adorableness, Shahan told me this: “I just want to mention that I think we really need to hear the voices of the LGBTQ+ community.” Well, he wasn’t going to get any argument from me there! Something about Shahan, his kind face, perhaps or his even temper maybe, elicits trust. I know he’ll always keep an eye on uplifting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly in Muslim spaces, and that means a lot to me.

When I asked Shahan to point to specific things he’d overseen that he’s proud of, he mentioned the Defend Democracy Digital  Dine-In that Central Committee hosted June 2021.

“We got the DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison down here. No Central Committee had ever done that before.

Shahan said that the Central Committee’s rebranding–from a new look to a new outlook–was something he participated in as a member of that group that he took a lot of pride in.

Shahan said the number one call he’s received as chair of Central Committee is local Dems wanting to know where they could get a Joe Biden sign. This again got me choked up. I told Shahan to stop making me cry! He laughed, and there’s something about his laugh that makes you want to laugh too. So now I was doing that crying and laughing at the same time thing–not a good look. But who cares!

Shahan seems like the kind of person who takes heart in giving credit where it’s due.

“Sean Ford, Becca Niburg and Herb Smith–if it hadn’t been for that trifecta–I don’t think we could have gotten the record voter registration numbers we got in 2020,” which was another thing that happened under his leadership that Shahan was proud of.

Shahan is always about fighting for the people, he told me, seeing that all voices are elevated. He said sometimes this means just active listening. But that’s just sometimes. There’s also more vigorous ways in which we can uplift voices, Shahan told me. I think the fact that this came right after our talk about the LGBTQ+ community, Shahan was making it clear that the experiences, the stories (the articles about?) others were so fundamentally important. This was something he’d learned, he told me, during his time on Central Committee so far. This surprised Shahan. I loved that he wasn’t shy about telling me that sometimes listening is doing.

The Jewish mom in me has to say this: how adorable is Shahan’s Facebook page for his campaign. Such a shayne punum! On Shahan’s Facebook page you can see a video of him rapping, videos of him vamping with local elected officials, and videos of him just talking to local Democrats. Old Jewish ladies love Facebook, videos, and Shahan. What–it’s true!

I asked Shahan’s friends and fellow members of Central Committee, Jeremy Eldridge and Regina Clay, why they thought Shahan was great at what he does.

Another one with a shayne punum, Jeremy said: “As chair, Shahan has dedicated himself to improving the Howard County Democratic State Central Committee, and fighting for core Democratic values. That has included voter initiatives, promoting and organizing, local Democratic Party events, and generally staying that the forefront of the conversation.”

And she of the double-shayne punum said, Regina said: “Shahan is one of the most dedicated Democrats I know. He never accepts no for any answer in terms of getting Democrats elected and is committed to the core values of Democrats especially those in Howard County.”

And, that, dear readers is something Shahan loves: making friends.

He told me that despite all he wants the party to accomplish under his tenure, his favorite thing so far is the friendships he’s initiated or enriched during what I think will just be the start of a long political career. He said some personal challenges he’d experienced over these last four years had been made easier by some of the friends his made in the Dem community.

What’s up with this guy–does he just love to make Colleen Morgenthau cry happy tears. Of course not–but he’s pretty good at it!

When he lost his father in 2020, the kindness of so many of the people in the Democratic community was huge for him.

“They were dropping off food, they were treating me like a son in the case of Kweisi Mfume,” Shahan said, taking off his baseball cap, closing his eyes, and nodding.

Shahan said a big challenge for him in local politics has been being OK with the fact that not everyone is going to like him. Anyone can see Shahan is a people person, so I imagined this was hard for him, yes. He said when he sees something “wrong”, he wants to solve it right away.

“I’ve learned you have to trust your mission, your instinct, and just know that and you push forward,” he told me.

I thought, then, again, about how Shahan had said the Central Committee office was something so important to him. Yes, of course, I realized, because he knows places–be they digital or analog–are where you make connections. And connections–unity through them–is what Shahan is all about!

Also: Look at what’s cookin’ at the local water reclamation plant!

Thanks for reading! Check back with us each here at rocoinhoco.com every week as Robert, Colleen (and pup, Moses) get to know the many facets—one each week–of this prismatic place called Howard County. We want to take you along with us, so follow us on Twitter at @rocoinhoco, join our Facebook group, and follow us on Instagram at @rocoinhoco.