DETROIT — City council candidate Mohamed Okdie, who is Arab American, placed 16th out of 169 in Detroit’s primary election Tuesday, garnering 9,374 votes and winning a spot on the November ballot.

Detroit city council candidate Mohamed Okdie received 9,374 votes in Tuesday’s primary election, placing him 16th and winning him a spot on the November general election ballot.

The top 18 vote-getters move on to fight for nine spots on the council in the general election Nov. 3.
“I’m happy that an Arab American has penetrated the electoral process for the first time in the history of the city of Detroit, and I’m extremely pleased that citizens of the city of Detroit made me one of their choices,” Okdie said Wednesday.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t finish better, obviously, but it’s the first time for me as a candidate and a first for our people as a people.”

Okdie will have to fall within the top nine in the general election to win a seat on the council.

Current city council member Alberta Tinsley-Talabi came in ninth in the primary with 20,097 votes.

Okdie said voter turnout for the primary was disappointing and that the general election will be a different ballgame.

“There’s always the hope that if people turn out to vote completely… anything can happen,” he said. “I am optimistic. I do think we can do it with a lot of hard work and a significant amount of campaign money… We did do something very historical and it is possible to win. I would just hope that the Arab community now has a different view of what we can do and what we could be doing.”

Former television news reporter Charles Pugh received the most votes in Detroit’s city council primary with 59,560.

Former Fox 2 TV news reporter Charles Pugh was the top vote-getter Tuesday, with 59,560 votes, followed by current City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr., with 49,657 votes.
Former deputy police chief Gary Brown, who was a whisleblower in the scandal that led to the fall of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, got the third most votes with 41,281.

Incumbents Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and Jo Ann Watson also placed within the top nine, along with Jai-Lee Dearing, a small business owner, and Saunteel Jenkins, who is former chief of staff to the late City Council President Maryann Mahaffey.

Other candidates landing in the top 18 were Andre L. Spivey, James Tate, Lisa Howze, Shelley I. Foy, Fred Elliott Hall, Raphael B. Johnson, David J. Cross and John K. Bennett .

Current council member Martha Reeves, an international singing star known for several Motown hits in the 1960s, did not make the cut, coming in with 5,670 votes.

Former council member Monica Conyers, who resigned in June amid corruption charges but remained on the ballot, received only 2,112 votes.

Mayor Dave Bing received 73.9 percent of the vote in the mayoral primary. In November he will face Tom Barrow, who came in second with 11.09 percent.

Bing became mayor after narrowly defeating Cockrel Jr. in a special election held in May.

For full Detroit election results, visit www.vote4detroit.com.

For more on Mohamed Okdie’s campaign, visit www.electmohamedokdie.com or email Vote2009@ElectMohamedOkdie.com.

Ethnic enclave turns out the votes

In Hamtramck, which is a small, separate, ethnically diverse city located inside the city of Detroit, the primary election saw a larger than normal turnout.

About 22.2 percent of registered voters turned up at the polls, significantly higher than the 14.3 percent turnout in the 2007 August primary, according to Hamtramck activist Bill Meyer and city clerk’s office records.

Hamtramck mayoral candidate Abdul Algazali will face incumbent Karen Majewski in November.

A number of Bengali American candidates did well in the city council primary, and Arab American Abdul Algazali took second place in the mayoral primary, with 694 votes.
He will go head-to-head in the general election against current Mayor Karen Majewski, who received 873 votes Tuesday.

Visit hamtramckstar.com for full results.

 

Detroit City Council primary results

REGISTER VOTERS…………. 575,534

BALLOTS CAST………………… 97,723

VOTER TURNOUT……………. 16.9 percent

The following 18 candidates will move on to

compete in November for nine seats:

Charles Pugh……………………………… 59,560 8.73 percent

Ken Cockrel Jr………………………….. 49,657 7.28 percent

Gary Brown ………………………………. 41,281 6.05 percent

Brenda Jones………………………………. 29,985 4.40 percent

Saunteel Jenkins………………………… 29,843 4.43 percent

Kwame Kenyatta……………………….. 28,617 4.20 percent

Jo Ann Watson……………………………. 24,899 3.65 percent

Jai-Lee Dearing………………………….. 22,899 3.36 percent

Alberta Tinsley-Talabi……………… 20,097 2.95 percent

Andre L. Spivey…………………………. 20,063 2.94 percent

James Tate…………………………………… 19,471 2.86 percent

Lisa Howze…………………………………. 12,493 1.83 percent

Shelley I. Foy……………………………… 11,712 1.72 percent

Fred Elliott Hall…………………………. 11,080 1.62 percent

Raphael B. Johnson…………………… 10,887 1.60 percent

Mohamed Okdie………………………… 9,374 1.37 percent

David J. Cross…………………………….. 9,125 1.34 percent

John K. Bennett………………………….. 8,164 1.20 percent

Visit www.vote4detroit.com for full results.