DSA LA Candidate Caught Breaking Own Party’s Rules

Faizah Malik, 41, is challenging moderate Councilmember Traci Park, 50, on Los Angeles’ affluent Westside with a platform centered on tenant rights and housing accessibility. Yet Malik herself resides in a sprawling luxury property that sits on a 5,780 square foot lot complete with private enclosed yard, sun-drenched interiors, and premium finishes throughout.

The residence features an all-white kitchen with stainless steel appliances, multiple bedrooms opening onto private balconies, and a deck designed for outdoor dining — a rare amenity in the pricey coastal enclave.

Located in Penmar, near the Penmar Golf Course, the home sits in a neighborhood where single-family properties typically range from $1.7 million to $4 million. Zillow estimates the rental value at $8,000 monthly, nearly triple what the average Los Angeles resident pays for housing.

According to a March rental market trends report by Zumper, the typical Angeleno pays up to $3,000 for housing. Only nine percent of renters pay more than $6,000 monthly.

When contacted by New York Post, Malik’s spokeswoman defended the candidate’s credibility, noting that renters on the Westside span all financial situations and that homeowners face significant financial pressures as well.

The campaign emphasized Malik’s record of commitment to ensuring every city resident has a dignified life. Her team also argued that as a renter herself, Malik possesses credibility on tenant advocacy issues through lived experience.

The campaign characterized Malik and her husband as representative of a large segment of Los Angeles millennials priced out of home ownership.

Barry Cassilly, a Venice resident active in Westside politics, offered a sharper assessment to New York Post: Faizah Malik trying to pass herself off as a humble renter is offensively insulting given her residence in a multi-million dollar home in one of the more exclusive parts of the sixth most expensive neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Mansion Contradicts Socialist Housing Ideology

Malik’s luxurious living arrangement clashes with core DSA housing ideology, which advocates shifting from private, profit-driven housing toward publicly owned models. The organization’s platform explicitly calls for social housing that redistributes land from private owners to the public and challenges the foundation of private property itself.

Malik’s campaign website highlights years spent defending renters and promoting affordable housing. She promises to fight for safer streets, expand bike and bus lanes, protect vulnerable road users, and build more housing in the job-rich, housing-starved Westside district.

Real Estate Executive Husband

Malik’s husband, Zaahir Syed, 44, serves as senior managing director at CBRE Investment Banking, where he advises major real estate players on capital raising and deployment. His background includes capital-raising roles at a Manhattan-based real estate investment fund. Syed also founded and chaired the Detroit Foundation, focused on urban revitalization.

The couple has two children enrolled at an elite private school where Syed has served on the board since 2024. Annual tuition runs $41,500, with additional costs including a $200 family community fee, $1,000 per child for student activities, and a $200 capital fee, before optional monthly payment handling charges.

Leading Controversial Venice Housing Fight

Malik works as a top attorney at Public Counsel, serving as managing attorney on tenant rights issues. She collaborates closely with advocacy coalitions including the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, which recently secured approximately $106 million in city contracts to advance aggressive tenant protections, land-use mandates, and development battles.

These efforts have received backing from fellow DSA ally and Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman, who herself lives in a $1.9 million home.

Malik has positioned herself at the center of one of the Westside’s most contentious battles: the Venice Dell project. She helped lead the legal charge, suing Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Park to force approval of an affordable housing development carrying a staggering price tag of roughly $1.2 million per unit.

While pushing litigation that could burden taxpayers with another expensive housing project, Malik simultaneously warns that City Hall is bleeding cash because of salary increases for the LAPD and LAFD.

With information from New York Post