Half a century in San Rafael
Revitalization, rehabilitation, and rebeautification: a story about a town, a neighbor, and what comes next.
San Rafael · 50 years in 2028
A neighbor with business experience
Mahmoud Shirazi brings a powerful blend of expertise to the mayoral race. With degrees in Mathematics and Business, he offers decades of business acumen.
More than just an experienced leader, Shirazi is deeply committed to the pulse of San Rafael — his dedication involves engaging residents directly to understand their pressing issues and leveraging that insight to foster sustainable city growth. He is the owner operator of a small mini market store at 842 B Street in Downtown San Rafael.
Mathematics and BusinessDegrees in Mathematics and Business, and decades of business acumen brought to city leadership.
842 B StreetOwner operator of a small mini market in Downtown San Rafael, on the pulse of daily downtown life.
50 years: half a centuryIn 2028, San Rafael will have been Mahmoud's home for 50 years. He is asking for the opportunity to serve it.
Pour a cup of coffee. This is not a slogan. It is the story of why Mahmoud A. Shirazi is running for mayor of San Rafael, told one chapter at a time.
1
Fifty years of home
In 2028, Mahmoud Shirazi will have called San Rafael home for 50 years. Half a century. Long enough to remember how Fourth Street felt when the storefronts were full and the sidewalks were busy. Long enough to notice, year by year, what has slipped away, and to know it does not have to stay that way.
2
A view from behind the counter
Mahmoud owns and runs a small mini market at 842 B Street in Downtown San Rafael. Every day, people come through the door and talk: about rent, about the empty shop next door, about neighbors with nowhere to sleep. A counter downtown is a good place to listen. It is where many of the ideas on this site began.
3
Numbers that tell the truth
With degrees in Mathematics and Business and decades of running a business, Mahmoud reads a city the way he reads a ledger. When storefronts and offices sit empty, San Rafael loses twice: the license fees new businesses would pay, and its share of the sales tax they would collect. The vacancy rate is growing, and the hole in the city's finances grows with it.
4
Ideas that were early, and right
In 2020 and again in 2024, Mahmoud suggested using local motels to house people without homes. Today the county is acting on that idea, at the Motel 6 on East Francisco Boulevard. Good ideas from ordinary neighbors deserve to be heard the first time.
5
Picture Fourth Street
“Revitalizing and rebeautifying Fourth Street will be one of my major focuses.” Mahmoud says it plainly, because Fourth Street is the heart of San Rafael. When its storefronts are full and its sidewalks are busy, the whole city feels it. Bring businesses back, and the foot traffic comes back with them: people stop for lunch, shop, and stay. That is revitalization you can see, and it is the kind of rebeautification that pays the city back.
6
Revitalization, rehabilitation, rebeautification
Mahmoud says these three words every day, because together they are the plan. Revitalize downtown by bringing businesses back. Rehabilitate the city's finances, its empty buildings, and the lives of neighbors who have fallen on hard times. Rebeautify San Rafael so people are proud to walk its streets again.
7
From the bottom up
Mahmoud likes to put it simply: fixing America from the bottom up, one city at a time. It starts with cooperation, collaboration, and bringing good ideas together, from business leaders, from residents, and from you.
8
The next chapter is yours
On Tuesday, November 7, 2028, San Rafael chooses its mayor. Make sure you are registered, tell a neighbor, send Mahmoud your suggestions, and if you can, chip in. Fifty years of home. One more chapter to write, together.