In an election that signaled both political and generational change, longtime Hilliard resident Nadia Rasul emerged as the top vote-getter in the November 4, 2025 City Council race securing one of four open seats and becoming the first Muslim woman ever elected to Hilliard’s council.

Rasul’s victory was decisive and historic, but according to her, the reason she won was simple: “People want to feel heard.”

In an interview following the election, Rasul said that many Hilliard residents feel their voices come too late in the decision-making process. By the time citizens deliver public comments, the council has often already signaled how it intends to vote.

“That’s why people are frustrated,” she said. “They want a city government that listens before decisions are made.”

That desire for change combined with what many describe as Rasul’s deep and genuine connection to the community helped propel her to the top of the field.

Rasul has lived in Hilliard since 1991. For more than three decades, she has been known not as a politician but as a neighbor, a PTA mom, and a trusted local pharmacist. Many residents remember her for small moments that mattered including times when she delivered medication after hours to families unable to make it to the pharmacy.

Those acts, it turned out, were not forgotten.

While canvassing during early voting, Rasul knocked on a door where a woman immediately exclaimed that she had already voted for her, recalling how Rasul once delivered her family’s prescriptions late at night. At the next home, another resident screamed with excitement when she opened the door, saying: “You helped us so much at the pharmacy. I can’t wait to vote for you.”

Rasul said she never expected these interactions, especially from demographics she didn’t think she had achieved. But as one campaign volunteer told her that day, “I’ve never seen anyone get that reaction at the door. You’re going to win this thing.”

As someone who knew Rasul growing up, I saw firsthand the role she played in the schools   organizing events, supporting students, and creating a sense of community long before she ever thought of running for office. Parents and children knew her for her warmth and her reliability.

When I asked whether her volunteer work helped her win, she told me, “My passion and energy resonate with people. Voters wanted to be part of something different.”

Young voters especially, she said, “were frustrated,” feeling reduced to endorsements and party machinery rather than genuine engagement. Rasul’s campaign intentionally opened doors to them, inviting teenagers to ask questions, help with canvassing, and see themselves reflected in local government.

At one event, a child ran up to her shouting, “You’re the lady from TikTok!” For Rasul, it demonstrated the importance of getting kids engaged early: “When young people feel included, they start asking questions, learning, caring – that’s how future leaders are made.”

Rasul was candid about the fear she felt running as a visibly hijab wearing woman.

“When I started, I was nervous to knock on doors alone,” she said. “I worried people wouldn’t be open to me because of my hijab.”

She began by visiting community events where she felt safer. But the more she knocked on doors, the more she was surprised and relieved by the overwhelmingly positive response. She estimates that 95 percent% of the residents she met were warm and welcoming.

“The majority of my votes in the primary were from non-Muslims,” she noted. “It showed me people saw me as part of this community first.”

The 2025 council race featured seven candidates vying for four seats  and all four winning candidates were Democrats, marking the first time the seven-member council will be entirely Democratic. Rasul’s vote count placed her at the very top.

“It’s not a shock at all,” several residents told me. “She’s been here for us long before she ran.”

Her win reflects a city that has grown more diverse, more engaged, and more determined to see its leadership reflect on its people.

Despite the historic nature of her victory, Rasul insists this moment is not about her identity, but about service.

“I’m here to serve everyone, she said. “We are here for the voters.”

Rasul’s win is a reminder that change often begins close to home. Long before campaign signs appeared, she built trust one small act at a time. By Election Day, that trust became her strongest advantage.

Her story offers a lesson for local politics everywhere:
When people feel heard, they show up. When they feel represented, they vote.