Local businessman Shami makes it official; will run for governor

Gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami with Jessica Gutierrez


HOUSTON – Last week local businessman Farouk Shami ended all speculation and announced he is running for Texas governor as a Democrat in 2010.

On Nov. 19 he announced his intention at a press conference at his factory, CHI USA located in the Greenspoint area.

“I am ready to bring the values that motivated me every day in my own life, and in my career into Texas state government,” stated Shami. “I am running for Governor because I am tired of the influence that lobbyists and special interests have in Austin. And instead of taking money from the taxpayers, I will serve as Governor for a $1 a year in pay. This state has given me plenty – now it’s time for me to give back.”

Forty-four years ago, Shami arrived with $71 in his pocket and invented the first ammonia free hair lightener and coloring system.

This experience inspired him to spend more time thinking about how to solve problems. In 1992, he invented a process for the use of silk molecules in hair products and developed the BioSilk line. Nine years later, he helped to pioneer thermal tool technology and invented the CHI ceramic line. Four years ago, he turned to a NASA scientist, Dr. Dennis Morrison, to create even more innovative, safer, and environmentally friendly products.

As Governor of Texas he said he would create new jobs, improve education, reform health care, fix state government, and protect the environment. Shami said he knows how the economy works because he has built a business from the ground up that employs thousands of people and exports to 114 countries. He said that he understands the challenges of health care because he provides health care for his employees.

He also built his company to be environmentally friendly and owns three ranches in Texas, where he planted 10,000 olive trees to be used as ingredients for the CHI Organics line.

The candidate said he wants to use his lifelong passion for education to improve public schools because he believes that education is the key to giving children the tools they need in order to be strong in the future.

“I know this race will not be easy. But who would have thought only a few years ago that a young man named Barack Hussein Obama could be elected to the most powerful job on earth,” stated Shami. “It could only happen here in America. I think the time has come for our Democratic Party here in Texas to show our state and nation that we will not be limited by stereotypes of the past or the old ways of thinking. We will not be limited in what we can achieve if we put our faith, hope, and trust in the principles that inspired this great nation and are at the heart of this great state—a belief in freedom and equality, a recognition that if you work hard and achieve you can accomplish anything in life, and a knowledge that our greatest responsibility is to leave this world in a better condition than it was left to us.”