During his service as Mayor and Councilmember of Artesia, and past President of the League of California Cities, Ali Taj has been a leader locally, regionally, and at the state level fighting for policies that create more housing, support small business development, and expand public safety. The goal for Ali has been to use his position as a public servant to tangibly improve people’s everyday lives.

His path to public service started half a world away. Ali was born and raised in Pakistan, growing up in the city of Lahore. He went to high school at The British School of the Netherlands, and went on to earn Bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science and a Master’s in public administration. He eventually he joined his family in the United States in the late 1990s.

Despite having advanced degrees from his native country, achieving the California Dream started with a job at the Good Guys making $4.25 an hour while also mopping floors at a Shell gas station. From there, Ali worked hard to move forward and capture his share of the American Dream, eventually working, at first, as a financial advisor at one of America’s largest institutions advising people on how to grow their own finances, then management executive, and finally starting his own investment fund with a partner.

This progression in building a life for him and his family shaped Ali’s understanding of the community and the people he now represents. On the city council that has meant focusing on housing issues and using his financial background to steer Artesia through troubled budgets and turn things around.

As a father, Ali has seen the difficulty working families have buying a home and making ends meet. His own son and daughter-in-law are both working professionals who could not have bought their home without help with a down payment. 25 years ago, when Ali was starting out, this was not the case. This example helps fuel his passion for housing solutions.

On the personal side, Ali speaks six languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Dutch, French and German. He was introduced to multiple religions as a youth, and attends services at a diverse number of churches in the Artesia area.