December 21, 2017

Dear Committee member:

I hope this letter finds you and your family well during this Christmas and Hanukkah season.

My name is Sarmad Khojasteh and I would be honored to represent the Republican Party in the
upcoming Special Election for the 37​th State Senate District. To date, I am the only Republican who has filed
paperwork formally declaring my intention to run. Since filing on December 1st, I have been meeting with
Republican leaders and voters, raising money and talking to the media about my candidacy. Earlier this week, I
launched my website ​www.sarmad4ny.com and social media platforms to help spread the message about our
candidacy and the issues on which we are running.

My wife, Anjella, and I live in Bedford, where we are raising our two young children, Aubtin and Yara.
I was born in Iran and moved to the United States with my parents and brother when I was a child, following
the Islamic Revolution and during the early years of the Iran-Iraq War. We grew up in Poughkeepsie, where
my Dad worked two jobs -- one at IBM and the other as a small business owner in Peekskill. My parents raised
my brother and me the best they could – with lots of love and a singular focus on ensuring we seized on the
opportunities the United States afforded to us. As they’ll tell you, their hard work and dedication paid off. My
brother became a physician, specializing in adult and pediatric pain management. I had the opportunity to
attend Colgate University the University of Chicago Law School, and now am a commercial litigation partner at
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.

My wife, Anjella, is also a child of immigrants from Iran. She was raised in upstate New York, where
her family also ran a small business. Like me, Anjella seized on the opportunities afforded to her, earning her
undergraduate and master’s degrees, and then working in national advertising sales for FOX Television for
nearly a decade.

Anjella and I are blessed to be products of that long-talked-about “American Dream” – raised by parents
with nothing more than hard work, determination and a dream to provide their children as much possibility as
possible. We are running for New York State Senate because, today, too many New Yorkers are being closed
out of the American Dream. They simply can’t make ends meet, much less create a foundation for financial
security that they can build on to get ahead. They are working harder than ever before, but have less and less to
show for it.

Nevertheless, many of our elected officials seem intent on proposing legislation as a form of protest, or
to win political points in a game of partisan ping pong, rather than listening to their constituents and coming up
with ideas that would help to solve real problems for the people they serve. The result is unsustainable for all of
us, but particularly so for lower and middle-income New Yorkers – many of whom are immigrants facing
circumstances no different than those my parents faced thirty-five years ago, and who, at best, are running only
to stand still.

I now am running to represent the 37​th State Senate District because I believe that more than ever we
need independent-minded, practical problem solvers in Albany. Our campaign for Senate will be focused on
making New York a great place to raise a family, start a business, and, ultimately, retire – for everyone. We
will be running to promote policies that help hard-working New Yorkers achieve financial security and upward
mobility, with a focus on education reform, home affordability, and small business entrepreneurship. It’s about
finding ways to help the dishwasher become the restaurant owner, the mechanic one day own the auto body
shop, and the carpenter become the contractor. After all, if government is to do anything, it must position
individuals to seize upon their God-given potential, not restrain them from doing so.

Now, we understand that we are an unfamiliar face with an even more unfamiliar name. We have to
work to earn your trust and confidence, and ultimately your support for the nomination. To that end, we are
making every effort possible to meet with as many local GOP district leaders and committee members as
possible. Thus far, the response has been positive: people believe our economic message will resonate with
voters and believe my personal background will provide a compelling narrative for the campaign. We also are
getting out into the community, talking to seniors, small business owners and families about our message and
the importance of this election.

We also know what we don’t know, and as a political newcomer know that we need a top flight team to
successfully quarterback us through the campaign. And, we have put together just that - a top flight team:
Mike Lawler, who ran Julie Killian’s campaign and Rob Astorino’s gubernatorial campaign and was Executive
Director of the State Party is running the campaign; Mollie Fullington, who served as Governor Pataki’s press
secretary, is handling our media; and, on the fundraising front, Ann Herberger, who was one of Jeb Bush’s top
fundraising professionals, is working with us.

This is all to say that while there undoubtedly remains much work ahead of us in order to earn your trust
and confidence and, ultimately, your support for the nomination, we hope the steps we have taken to date
demonstrate that we are not taking anything for granted, do not intend to leave any stones unturned, and will
work tirelessly over the coming days and weeks to earn your support. And, rest assured, if we secure the
nomination, we will take the same dogged approach towards ensuring that we run a successful and winning
campaign. For both Anjella and I, the opportunity to meet voters and hear their concerns, and to give those
concerns a voice in our campaign and, ultimately, in Albany would be the highest privilege and honor.

For more information about me and my candidacy, please visit ​www.sarmad4ny.com and follow me on
@sarmad4ny on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or feel free to reach out to me directly via email,
campaign@sarmad4ny.com​ or by phone, 914-610-0948.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

Sincerely,

Sarmad Khojasteh

Paid for by Sarmad Khojasteh for State Senate