Residents in the 3rd State senate district, which is composed of Dearborn, River Rouge and parts of Detroit will  vote for a new senator in the general election this fall. With current Senator Irma Clark-Coleman term limited, three Democrats and one Republican are vying for her seat.

The Republican party will not have a primary, as Doug Mitchell is the only candidate for the party.  Mitchell will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the August primary.

William Issac Robinson, a Democrat and lawyer from Dearborn,  has received endorsements from the Arab American Political Action Committee. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, and Congressman John Conyers in his race for state Senate.

“I am running to bring people together in Lansing and in the community to create jobs and put petty politics aside.  I will work hard to improve public safety, strengthen education, defend senior citizens’ programs and cut wasteful government spending,” Robinson said. His two main focuses if he is elected will be job creation and a strong community. As the Teamsters’ political director. he says he brought labor and  business together to keep Verndale Products open and supported bi-partisan legislation that created movie industry jobs.

Contending with Robinson in the Democratic primary is former three-term House member Morris Hood along with Mohamed Okdie, a retired social worker and Arab American who are both from Detroit. Hood served in the 11th house district and believes that health insurance is one of the biggest issues currently on the table.

Before working as a school social worker, Okdie worked as community liaison for Congressman John Conyers and currently serves on a variety of community boards and associations, including the Michigan Taskforce on Children’s Justice, where he is chairman.

“We must develop a stable environment that encourages business to invest and create new jobs,” Okdie said. “We also must work with banks to ensure they grant businesses a better opportunity to obtain the necessary funds to expand and create new jobs.”

Terms for each seat are four years. Under the state’s term-limits law, state senators can serve up to two four-year terms.