Samba Baldeh was born on September 10,1971 and is a Gambian American immigrant, information technology professional, and Democratic politician from Madison, Wisconsin.
17 Facts About Samba Baldeh
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Samba Baldeh served two terms as member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 48th Assembly district from 2021 to 2025.
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Samba Baldeh is the first Muslim member of the Wisconsin Legislature.
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Samba Baldeh was born in The Gambia, in western Africa.
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Samba Baldeh is a member of the Fulani tribe of semi-nomadic livestock herders.
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Samba Baldeh's father died when he was about four years old.
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Samba Baldeh attended college at the University of the Gambia and became involved in protests against the country's dictator, Yahya Jammeh.
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Samba Baldeh's activism brought him to Washington, DC, in 1999 for a Global Meeting of Generations conference.
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Samba Baldeh emigrated to Madison, Wisconsin, in 2000 and earned his US citizenship in 2005.
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Samba Baldeh studied computer science and earned his associate's degree from Madison Area Technical College in 2007.
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In 2015, Samba Baldeh announced he would run for a seat on the Madison Common Council, challenging 8-year incumbent Joe Clausius.
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Samba Baldeh campaigned on shifting the city's focus from downtown development to increasing services and community space in the city's neighborhoods and strengthening the fabric of the community.
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Samba Baldeh was outspoken after the wave election of 2019 when nearly half of the common council members and the longtime Mayor of Madison, Paul Soglin, were ousted.
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Samba Baldeh pointed out that such a massive change in personnel might be disruptive until the new members got up to speed, and wanted to refocus attention on one of the major campaign issues, the contentious development of the Judge Doyle Square project.
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Samba Baldeh was one of four Democrats who entered the primary to replace her in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
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Samba Baldeh was born into the Fulani tribe of semi-nomadic livestock herders.
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Samba Baldeh has been a member of the boards of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the 100 Black Men of Madison.