By Julie E. Anderson, Columbia Basin bureau

The Wenatchee World, Wednesday, July 29, 1992

EPHRATA -- Family practice physician Mohammad Said has filed for the U.S. Senate seat not held by Brock Adams.

Said, 51, a Democrat, was born in Palestine.  He has lived for the past 10 years with his wife and three children on a 100-acre farm near Ephrata.

He has been active in Mideast political movements and the state Democratic party.

Said traveled to Iran in the late 1970's to aid in efforts to release American hostages.  After joining his brother in Canada, Said immigrated to the United States in 1974 and became a U.S. citizen in 1980.

He was elected to the National Platform Committee for Jesse Jackson in 1988 and has served as the vice chairman of the Grant County Democratic Central Committee for the past two years.  He also has served as a state delegate, precinct officer and state platform member.

In a statement presented at the state Democratic party Convention May 25, Said stated, "My campaign will be an educational one, with lots of fun and a serious message."

Said has developed a detailed platform for his campaign and said he is running because he believes some important issues are being ignored.

He said he had planned to run as an independent but was unable to gather the 200 signatures needed to be placed on the primary ballot.

If elected, he said, he would like to work on opening trade with Moslem countries and push the state to be more open to commerce and trade.  Non-military participation in the reconstruction of Iraq is a project Said believes the U.S. should be involved in as well.

"I fell we have to be in the position to participate," he said.  "And our state will benefit greatly here."

Said traveled to Kuwait just prior to the Persian Gulf War and spoke briefly with Saddam Hussein at the Islamic Conference.  During the war, he led demonstrations again st the fighting and held press conferences in Jordan, at the Washington National Press Club and at the United Nations.

Said also has developed a comprehensive federal health care plan that calls  for the elimination of all health programs and the establishment of national health care available to everyone regardless of income.  Patients would pay a co-payment ranging up to 50 percent of the medical costs, depending on their income.

"I've practiced in Canada and Europe," he said.  "I went through all the systems and I know what works."

Campaign reforms also are part of Said's platform.  TO eliminate the influence of public interest groups, Said suggests Congress to be hosted in a different state each year.  He also would like campaigning to be limited to a two-month period and funded publicly to eliminate interest groups.

Said is a member of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Amnesty International, Rainbow Coalition and People for the American Way.