DEARBORN HEIGHTS — As the Deputy Comptroller and a resident of more than 25 years, Mahdi Baydoun is running for treasurer.
Baydoun is the son of Ibrahim “Juice” Baydoun, a prominent figure in the community.
“I follow in my father’s footsteps of community service and working for the greater good,” he said. “I pride myself in assisting and helping others, which has led me to working for the city of Dearborn Heights. I am currently working for the city of Dearborn Heights as the deputy comptroller (more commonly known as an assistant finance director). I have dedicated the past two years to this position and plan to stay until retirement.”
Baydoun, a finance and accounting major at the University of Michigan-Dearborn who graduated with a 3.98 GPA, said that he decided to run for the position because while he’d lose job security, he believes that it is the right move for the greater good for the city and his professional growth.
“I believe the city needs younger and more ambitious leaders that can move it forward in the right direction,” he said. “There are plenty of inefficiencies within the city that I am tirelessly working to fix, which is hard to do in the current position I hold. Becoming the treasurer for the city will allow me to implement the necessary changes to fix the glaring issues the city has, and optimize the financial operation as a whole.”
If elected, Baydoun said his primary goal is to implement necessary policies, procedures and financial controls to improve the internal operation of the city.
“We currently rely too much on third party assistance from an accounting firm, which is very costly to the city,” he said, referring to Plante Moran. “I plan to greatly reduce this assistance, saving the city funds to use on more useful services.”
Baydoun said that he feels he brings a younger, more forward-thinking mindset to the city and that the city needs people willing to adapt to the changing socioeconomic environment.
“The city needs more employees on board with making the necessary changes for the greater good, instead of being stuck in the past,” he said. “I have already implemented many changes in my department, improving internal processes and worker productivity. These changes did come with some pushback from some of the employees, but ended up helping everyone involved.”
Although employed by the city, Baydoun said he considers working for the city as a community service. He has taken the investment to the next level and works diligently to move the city forward to where it needs to be.
“Outside of working for the city, I am not as involved in the city that I wish to be,” he said. “My current workload is the primary reason for this, as I am sometimes in the office seven days a week to ensure certain duties are completed in a timely manner. Before working for the city, I really didn’t have much to say as a resident. Now that I have an insider’s perspective, I want to see more collaboration between the City Council and the administration. I also want to see more fiscally responsible spending, as the city is in a very sensitive financial situation.”
Baydoun said he will dedicate himself to always improving the city in whatever ways he can.
“Although it can be difficult and I sometimes face pushback, change is necessary to move the city forward,” he said. “I am not someone who will turn a blind eye to problems, and will work to serve the city and residents to the best of my abilities. This city needs dedicated professionals willing to do the heavy lifting to get it to where it could be. I plan to stay employed with the city until I retire, and hope to get the support from the community to become the next treasurer.”
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