DEARBORN HEIGHTS – In the Dearborn Heights City Council primary elections held on Tuesday, four Arab Americans out of six candidates qualified for the general elections on November 7. The six candidates will compete for the three open seats in November. The City Council will at least have one new member, due to the decision of Council Chair Dave Abdallah, who decided not to seek re-election for a third term.

Current City Councilman Mo Baydoun led the primary race with 3,593 votes (26 percent), while former Councilman Zuhair Abdel-Hak ranked fourth with 1,252 votes (9 percent). The other two Arab American candidates, Hassan Saab and Ahmed Al-Kaabi, respectively ranked fifth, with 1,218 votes (8.8 percent) and sixth, with 733 votes (5.3 percent). Former interim Mayor Denise Malinowski-Maxwell came in second with 3,097 votes (22.5 percent) and current Council Vice Chair Ray Muscat came in third place with 2,647 votes (19 percent).

Currently, the City Council consists of seven members— Abdallah, Baydoun, Muscat, Hassan Ahmed, Nancy Bryer, Tom Wencel and Bob Constan.

Voter turnout was at 12 percent, as 5,619 voters cast their votes out of 46,783 registered voters, which is viewed as a low percentage in view of the rising tensions in City Hall. The latest chapter of these tension was the failed attempt to recall Mayor Bill Bazzi led by Abdel-Hak, who has been waging a smear campaign against Bazzi for nearly two years.

Candidates Wissam Fadlallah and Hussein Mazloum lost the election, with 685 votes (5.3 percent) and 404 votes (2.9 percent), respectively.

Baydoun expressed his deep appreciation to the voters for giving him the most votes.

Dearborn Heights City Council Primary 2023 Results

“I thank all who supported me and voted for me in this primary elections, and I hope that they will continue to support me in the upcoming November general elections,” he said.

Baydoun recalled his loss in his first run for City Council six years ago in August, and his ranking in fifth place at the time.

 “This time it was completely different, and this is the source of my happiness and my gratitude to all those who voted for me and supported me in this election,” he told the Arab American News.

He thanked Abdallah for mentoring him and Councilmen Ahmed and Muscat for their support and guidance. He also thanked Wayne County Commissioner David Knezek,  Dearborn Heights Fire Department Battalion Chief  Phil Hall and The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani for their support and encouragements.

Baydoun, a small business owner, ran for the Dearborn Heights Council for the first time in 2017 and lost the race by less than 300 votes, which prompted the Council to choose him for the seat vacated by Councilwoman Lisa Hicks Clayton after she was elected treasurer in 2020.

 Saab is looking forward to serving on the City Council — to support safety for the residents, deepening cooperation and harmony among members of the Council, as well as promoting ongoing improvements to the city’s infrastructure. He supports efforts to secure funding sources to fix the aging roads, parks, and address flooding. In addition, Saab will give special importance to legislative initiatives that encourage economic development, support local businesses and protect businesses and neighborhoods throughout the city.

Al-Kaabi told The Arab American News that he will focus on upgrading the aging infrastructure, attracting economic investments and improving the quality of life of the residents through upgrading parks, improving neighborhood security and providing recreational facilities for families.

Malinowski-Maxwell is betting on returning to the Council  in November, where she’d previously served as a member and chair, before deciding to run in the mayoral race against Mayor Bazzi, who won by a comfortable margin after getting more than 70 percent of the vote.

Abdel-Hak, who was appointed to the City Council early in 2021, in addition to his appointment as an interim treasurer in 2020, thanked the voters who voted for him in the primary elections. He pointed to his participation and continuous involvement in the affairs of the city, as a citizen and as an official during the last three decades. Abdel-Hak promised voters that he would continue to monitor the financial performance of the local government and investigate “every penny spent”, to make sure it brings maximum benefits to the city’s residents.