Bazzi and AAPAC volunteers meet before election day.

DEARBORN — The Arab American community celebrated a triumph on election night after voting results revealed that candidate Mariam Bazzi had landed in first place in her bid for a seat on Dearborn’s School Board. 

The race, which had three open seats out of a seven member body, saw Bazzi come well ahead of the competition, with 9,038 votes. 

Also making it onto the school board was Michael Meade, who came in second place with 7,872 votes. The third seat went to Mary K. Petlichkoff, who had 7,756 votes. 

Bazzi, a Wayne County assistant prosecutor and former Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) president, celebrated her victory with campaign volunteers at Habib’s Cuisine in Dearborn. 

Bazzi told The Arab American News that much of her campaign efforts were focused on reaching out to voters in west Dearborn, where there is a less concentrated number of Arab Americans. Her first-place victory showcases that she ushered in support from all ends of town. Prior to the results, Bazzi said she was pleased with the traffic at the polls. She noted that the morning and afternoon was quieter, but voters started coming out in droves by the evening. 

“There is no way I could have done this without the support of this entire community,” she said. “It wouldn’t be possible without them coming out, without them encouraging me and being behind me the entire way. Voters recognized that I’m a qualified candidate and that I’m worthy of their vote. Thank you so much for taking your time to learn about me and for taking your time to go out there and vote.”

Bazzi with campaign volunteers.

Bazzi’s win will make her the only Arab American on the school board. She will be replacing current president Hussein Berry, who ran for State Representative in the 9th House District earlier this year and lost his bid. He subsequently withdrew his candidacy from the school board. 

AAPAC President Ali Hammoud said the voter turn out for Bazzi demonstrated that the community is willing to participate in the electoral process as long as there is a candidate they feel confident in backing. 

“She has a full grasp of what the city needs and what the school board needs,” Hammoud said. “Her garnering the most votes is a testiment to her passion, her hard work and to her ability to bring people together and to believe in one cause.”

Along with Bazzi, Meade also received an endorsement from AAPAC. The third candidate to be endorsed by the committee— local Arab American Ghinwah Karkaba— came in sixth place with 4,258 votes. 

Karkaba told The Arab American News that despite her loss, she will continue to be an advocate for Dearborn’s public schools. 

“You can expect me to keep doing what I’ve been doing the whole time,” Karkaba said. “I’m advocating for schools and I’m going to stay on the scene. We will see what the future holds for me, but my agenda is still the same. I’m going to work with our schools and make sure there is equal balance wherever I can.”

Local Arab American candidate Nofila Haidar came in seventh place with 3,399 votes. While Haidar did not receive an endorsement from AAPAC, she did have a large backing from a number of Arab American residents, including the Arab Student Union (ASU). Haidar posted a message on Facebook the following morning thanking her supporters and promising that this wouldn’t be the end for her in local politics. Last year, she also ran an unsuccessful bid for mayor. 

“I want to thank you my dear friends and community members, for your tremendous support  through out our campaign,” Haidar said in a message on Facebook. “It was a beautiful journey that helped me achieve growth in ways I never imagined. It was a great try and it doesn’t end here. Hopefully our next campaign will be more successful, I look forward to it.”