She is a twenty-eight year Muslim woman who recently ran as a democrat for the Oregon House district one position in the US senate.

Following her defeat in the primary she switched parties to become a Republican because she felt the Republicans more closely reflected her conservative values. This seemed an unusual move considering the hostility many conservative Republicans feel towards Muslims.

None-the-less, Saba continues to seem satisfied with the switch.

Saba Ahmed has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Portland State University and is currently completing her joint Juris Doctorate-MBA degree at Lewis and Clark Law School and University of Portland.

She is no intellectual slouch.

She has worked for Intel Corporation, Digimarc Corporation, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and the Oregon Supreme Court.

In 2010 she successfully fought to repeal an Oregon law that banned teachers from wearing the Muslim headscarf, Sikh turban, Jewish yarmulke , or other religious attire. This was an Oregon law, originally passed to discriminate against Catholics, that was badly in need of repeal.

On the campaign trail Saba emphasizes her obvious qualifications to bridge the gap between the Christian and Muslim world view. She is also an outspoken critic of American military involvements.

Though I agree with her on some issues, her rather extreme conservatism doesn’t blend well with my observations of how the world works.

But what the hell, it’s our differences that make life so interesting. And Saba Ahmed is one interesting lady.

That's because Kyle's political victory happened the tiny (population 1,960) city of Union Oregon.

What is phenomenal about the rise of Kyle Corbin is he was elected Mayor of Union when he was seventeen years old AND ran as a write-in candidate.    He was a write-in because, at age seventeen, he wasn't old enough to be put on the ballot.

Fortunately, by the time he was elected he was eighteen, and old enough to serve.

Kyle ran in a time of political turmoil.

In 2004 two longtime city councilors were recalled and the police chief was indicted.    Deborah Clark, the woman who led the recall effort, was elected mayor in 2004 and her husband, Roger Clark, was elected as city councilor.    They were both recalled, the administrator fired, and the police chief resigned leaving the town without a law enforcement officer.

Kyle was elected in 2006 after a successful write-in campaign.

He promised to bring an end to the political chaos that plagued the town.    He was elected with 46 percent of the vote in a three candidate race.    He ran an old-fashioned, door-to-door campaign as a write-in candidate.    His 399 votes topped the 271 received by outgoing City Councilor Scott Morrison, 59.   A former city councilor, Dick Middleton, 64, finished with 200 votes.

Since Kyle became Mayor, politics in the City of Union have quieted down.   The city seems quite happy with it's young Mayor and the furor that preceded him has settled down.

Those of you who are interested in Oregon politics, keep an eye on Kyle Corbin.    He is a young man to watch.