DEARBORN — The municipality race in Dearborn has drawn plenty of attention and interest from the Arab American community, due to a handful of city council candidates who have launched impressive and vibrant campaigns. However, most residents may not be aware of the fact that three Arab American candidates are vying for an even more notable position: Mayor of the City of Dearborn. The three candidates are, Business Owner Nofila Haidar, Economic Researcher Tahir Hassan AlAragy and Wayne State University student Zaid Abdulmalik.

While little is known about Abdulmalik, The Arab American News was able to conduct a sit-down interview with Haidar and AlAragy, who are looking to challenge current Mayor Jack O’Reilly in his bid for re-election. The Arab American News does not endorse these candidates, however, felt that readers should be informed of their options. O’Reilly appears to be the clear front runner as we move closer into the Primary election on August 6, but these two candidates remain hopeful in providing residents with some alternate choices.

Nofila Haidar is the only female candidate running for the mayoral position in the City. Born in Lebanon, Haidar, 29, immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1993 and attained an education at Dearborn’s Public Schools.

Haidar also pursued her higher education in Dearborn as well, where she attended both Henry Ford Community College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, majoring in criminal justice and minoring in communications and urban regional studies.

Haidar tells The Arab American News that she developed greater political interest when her criminal justice professors encouraged her to get involved in City affairs. She began attending city council meetings and noticed the lack of interest, and lack of involvement, from the Dearborn community. She explains that ordinances, amendments and new laws, which directly affect each resident, were being passed without their knowledge.

“Whether I’m elected, or not, I want to educate and enlighten the community about their decision-making rights,” she says.

Nofila Haidar.

Some of her major concerns in the City include the closing down of pools and libraries. As a mother of two daughters, she says that it’s important that children stay occupied with extra-curricular activities, because it keeps them out of trouble. Another major concern of hers is the City’s business operation. She says that too many unoccupied buildings exist in Dearborn’s west side, and she believes that it’s because business owners are having a hard time cooperating with City officials.

“I’ve talked to people from other cities who want to open businesses in Dearborn, and even residents who want to live here, but they choose to be in other cities, because the City makes it very difficult to start a business in Dearborn. They tell me that the City inspectors drive them crazy and drain them with all of these procedures and steps, before they even get a seal of approval. It’s driving people away,” she adds.

A business owner in Dearborn herself, Haidar has been operating two locations for her business, Funkalooza, for a few years now. Funkalooza, a boutique store, carries accessories, including handbags, perfumes, sunglasses and make-up items, all personally designed by Haidar herself. She recently closed down one of the locations, located on Greenfield, and is scheduled to close down the second location at Wyoming, but says that she’s moving to a more prominent location in Dearborn, which she won’t reveal yet. She’s also opening another location in Ann Arbor. Haidar says that she has clients in New York, Chicago, Orlando, New Orleans and in Canada, as well.

We asked Haidar about the criticism that she has received, regarding her run for Mayor. Some have said that she isn’t qualified for the position, while others say she hasn’t done enough outreach within the community.  Haidar offered her own explanation.

“People tell me ‘Why you? You are young and not political enough.’ But these people don’t know me.  I understand everyone’s concerns.  If they think I’m not strong enough, or not politically involved, I would hope that they get to know me first. I want this to be a wake-up call for our community,” Haidar says. “Hopefully it can encourage other people to run. Whether you think I’m a good candidate, or not, wake up and be involved. Don’t elect any mayor and then get mad when something happens that you don’t approve of, because you never bothered asking who these other candidates were.” 

Haidar says that she has reached out to the community in her own ways. She has done plenty of door-to-door knocking, which she says has been most effective. On Sundays, she also visits Dearborn’s neighborhood parks to chat with residents.  She is president of the PTA at Becker Elementary School and says that she understands the concerns of parents about Dearborn’s educational system, with regard to many ESL children lagging behind, due to lack of proper resources.

Haidar admits, from her end, that she failed to reach out to the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) for an interview, but says that it was because she was tied down with moving her business into its new location.  However, she plans on reaching out to them, if she makes it passed the Primary.

Haidar held a fundraiser for her campaign last month and remains active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Residents can learn more about her campaign by joining her Facebook group ‘Nofila Haidar For Mayor,’ or by contacting her directly at nofilahaidar@yahoo.com.

Tahir Hassan AlAragy, an economic researcher, is also vying for the mayoral seat this election season. AlAragy, 44, was born in Kuwait, raised in Iraq, and came to the United States in 1994, where he got married and has raised a family of four children.

When AlAragy came to the U.S., he brought along a Bachelors Degree in economics from Baghdad and a diploma from an American University in Kuwait. His first job here was working for a non-profit organization dealing with refugee settlements across the Middle East. 

He eventually landed a job working for the Embassy of Kuwait, and then traveled back and forth, from Dearborn to Washington D.C., working for The World Bank, as a private contractor liaison. AlAragy believeshis expertise in this field is the ticket the City needs to turn the local economy around.

Tahir Hassan AlAragy

“The City has faced financial difficulties and a possible budget deficit, since my family and I have lived here.  I have the economic education and expertise to help save the City from a possible financial disaster,” he says. “My family and I love Dearborn, and we do not want to wait for the City to become bankrupt and have Governor Snyder come to us with Mr. Orr [Detroit’s Financial Manager].”

AlAragy says his plan is to turn Dearborn into a friendly city for investors and entrepreneurs and, in turn, enhance City investments that could pay for real estate taxes and help lower insurance premiums for residents. He would like to build replicas of historical landmarks, such as the Egyptian pyramids and the hanging gardens of Babylon in the City.  He also has aspirations of building a convention center, world class mall, and theaters to attract millions of tourists to Dearborn.

He says he wants to use Dubai as a model for Dearborn, by building towering skylines and bringing in more corporations. He envisions Dearborn as becoming one of the top ten most visited cities in the U.S.

“The City of Dearborn needs administrative change to be up-scaled and globalized. I will make Dearborn a global destination for tourism, trade and re-exporting, while also attracting giant global and U.S. employers. Since I am an economic researcher, I will reinvent and conglomerate the City, by building giant high-rise first class towers and expanding the City towards the Detroit River and Windsor, Canada,” he adds.

Those who are aware of AlAragy’s run for Mayor have criticized his platform as being too “over-the-top,” and have written him off as a serious candidate, because of his lack of experience in politics, but AlAragy says those doubters are instead putting their faith towards politicians who have had years of experience, but have yet to show anything for it in office.

“What is the point if you have someone with, maybe 20 years of experience in office, but has had budget deficits, lack of City investments, downscaling, too much reliance on grants, continued mortgage fraud cases and letting hotels, such as the Ritz and the Hyatt Regency, run away from the City?  People who never take step one to change something will never take step number two,” AlAragy says.  

He says a campaign fundraiser is a possibility in the future, and he is accessible to any resident who may have questions, or want to seek more information about him. He can be contacted at 313.405.5396, or emailed at tahirabuadam@yahoo.com.