SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. — The 2020 Election is just a couple months away, and while the election for the next mayor of Los Angeles is still a couple years away, one candidate has already started his campaging online.
Helan Mahmood, who wants to be L.A.'s next mayor, dropped out of college to begin his campaing.
“I was studying physics at Cal State Los Angeles, but I felt like it was more important to run for mayor," he said.
Mahmood said he’s a college dropout with zero political experience. In addition, he hates politics and bureaucracy. Mahmood said he felt like he had no choice but to run for mayor, “because I think it’s the fastest way to make change.”
He’s already got a plan for campaigning.
He plans to spread the word he wants to become Los Angeles’ next mayor on social media, mostly on TikTok. The 23-year-old said social media is his most powerful tool to reach young voters.
So far his TikTok campaign videos range between a couple hundred views to tens of thousands of views. Before he started his campaign, Mahmood said he had less than 1,000 followers.
He’s doubled that in just a few weeks.
“This is more of a youth movement. So I want to just go where the youth are, which is social media," he said.
According to the Census Bureau’s 2016 election survey, the 18-29 year-old voter group was the only age group to see an increase in voter turnout compared to 2012. Young voter numbers, however, were still much lower compared to the 65-plus voter crowd, with only 46.1 percent voter turnout, compared to 70.9 percent for voters 65 and older.
Mahmood said he has an explanation for the lower voter turnout: “They don’t have anything to vote for."
That’s why the millennial said he’s running. To give his peers a reason to head to the polls in 2022.
Mahmood said he’s not qualified to run for office, but said running a city to him is like running a business. Experience running a business he does have by helping run his brother’s fashion brand. His brother is the designer, and Mahmood handles everything else.
So when it comes to being a mayor of a city he said, “The residents are the customers, and you’re trying to provide the best services as possible.”
He’s working on a sort of business plan for the city which he will promote on TikTok.
His ideas include making more car-free, bus-only lanes. He also said housing is another big issue for him, in addition, the environment.
“I love LA. It’s just the ultimate place to live in my opinion, but it has so many problems,” said Mahmood.
He said if he doesn’t help fix them, who will?
Mahmood can be found online @mayorhelan on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.