Mo Baydoun and Denise Malinowski-Maxwell face off for mayor

The city of Dearborn Heights will see four distinct local races in the November 4 elections, led by the mayoral race between City Council President Mo Baydoun and Councilwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell.

Five additional candidates will compete in a tight race for four open seats on the seven-member City Council.

There will also be a Treasurer’s race between incumbent Lisa Hicks Clayton and Arab American candidate Mahdi Baydoun. The fourth and final contest involves City Clerk Lynne M. Senia, who is running unopposed, ensuring she will retain her position for another four-year term.

Baydoun is the strongest candidate

Dearborn Heights, a city of roughly 62,000 residents, is preparing to elect a new administration to succeed Mayor Bill Bazzi, who chose not to seek re-election after being appointed by President Trump as U.S. ambassador to Tunisia — a nomination the U.S. Senate confirmed on Tuesday.

Bazzi’s exit opened the field to multiple contenders during the August primary, which saw four candidates face off. The results revealed the clear dominance of Baydoun, who captured 59 percent of the vote (4,163 votes), compared with 27 percent (1,913 votes) for his nearest rival, Denise Malinowski-Maxwell.

Trailing far behind were Lena Arzouni with 7.7 percent and Hussein Anani with 6.7 percent, eliminating both from the general election.

Baydoun’s sweeping victory in the primary came as little surprise, given the broad coalition of support backing his campaign — from local politicians to public safety unions and labor organizations.

His list of endorsers includes a majority of City Council members, Treasurer Lisa Hicks Clayton, State Representatives Alabas Farhat and Erin Byrnes, Wayne County Commissioners Sam Baydoun and David Knezek, along with a majority of the Crestwood School Board, two members of the District 7 School Board and three former City Council members, including former Council Chair Dave (Wassim) Abdullah.

At 35-years-old, Baydoun is running his first campaign for mayor under the slogan “Putting Dearborn Heights Residents Before Politicians.”

Baydoun made his political debut in 2021, when he won his first City Council race with 70 percent of the vote, securing a partial two-year term just months after being appointed to fill a vacant seat.

In 2023, he was re-elected for a full four-year term, emerging as the top vote-getter, which paved his way to the Council presidency that same year — surpassing all other candidates, including Malinowski-Maxwell, who finished second in that election.

Baydoun’s tenure on the City Council has been marked by frequent clashes with Mayor Bill Bazzi, who supported Arzouni against him in the primary, to no avail.

Over recent years, numerous disputes have erupted between the Mayor’s Office and the City Council over controversial issues, including police department reforms and leadership changes, unilateral administrative appointments and disagreements on the city budget, employee salaries and benefits. These conflicts have sparked both political and legal battles among city officials.

The disagreements led to a sharp reduction in the city’s budget, which dropped to $56 million for the current fiscal year — down from nearly $100 million the year before.

Baydoun calls for greater transparency and active resident participation in the decision-making process. He pledges to provide strong and steady leadership, set aside political infighting and defend the public interest.

A lifelong Dearborn Heights resident, Baydoun graduated from Crestwood High School, then earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s in Public Administration from Wayne State University and Central Michigan University.

He co-founded and owns several businesses in Dearborn Heights. Baydoun is married to Dr. Laila Baydoun, and together they have two children, Ali and Madina.

Malinowski-Maxwell’s chances

Since announcing her mayoral candidacy, Denise Malinowski-Maxwell’s campaign has lacked the energy and visibility of her opponent’s. While Baydoun’s campaign has hosted large public events and attracted notable endorsements, Malinowski-Maxwell’s effort has not displayed the same dynamism — her campaign even lacks an official website, raising questions about the seriousness of her run.

Nonetheless, even if she loses, she will retain her City Council seat through 2027, unlike in 2021, when her mayoral bid forced her to forfeit her Council seat and resulted in a significant defeat to Mayor Bazzi, who won 72 percent of the vote to her 28 percent.

At that time, Malinowski-Maxwell was at the height of her political rise, having joined the City Council in 2018 after finishing first in the 2017 election and subsequently serving as Council president.

Her loss to Bazzi in 2021 marked a clear political setback, ending her term on the Council as of December 2021, since she was barred from seeking re-election to her seat while running for mayor.

However, Malinowski-Maxwell, 65, re-entered city politics by winning a Council seat in the 2023 election, reclaiming her position in 2024 for a four-year term expiring at the end of 2027. In that race, she again trailed behind Baydoun, receiving 3,659 votes to his 4,085.

In her current campaign for mayor, Malinowski-Maxwell’s platform features broad, community-focused goals: improving cleanliness and public safety, curbing reckless driving, upgrading infrastructure, addressing construction irregularities and flooding, promoting government transparency and stimulating the local economy.

Like Baydoun, Malinowski-Maxwell grew up in Dearborn Heights and graduated from Crestwood High School. She later attended Henry Ford College and earned a business administration degree from Madonna University. She is a mother of three and has spent most of her career in telecommunications and real estate.

Dearborn Heights City Council race

Alongside the mayoral contest, Dearborn Heights voters will elect four City Council members out of five candidates competing for the open seats on the seven-member Council.

The candidates include three incumbents seeking re-election — Hassan Ahmad (Council vice chair), Nancy Bryer and Tom Wencel — as well as two challengers: Margaret King and Rachel Lapointe. They are vying to fill the seat vacated by Bob Constan, who chose not to seek re-election.

Because the number of candidates is fewer than twice the number of available seats, the city did not hold a primary election for the Council race in August. Under Michigan election law, primaries are omitted when the number of candidates does not exceed double the number of openings.

The new Council elected in November will need to appoint a temporary replacement for whichever current member wins the mayoral race.

In addition to Baydoun, Ahmad, Malinowski-Maxwell, Bryer, Wencel and Constan, the current Council also includes Hassan Saab, whose term runs until the end of 2027.

Two additional races

City Clerk Lynne Senia is running unopposed, which guarantees her a new four-year term in office.

The Treasurer’s race features a contest between incumbent Lisa Hicks Clayton and challenger Mahdi Baydoun. Both automatically advanced to the November ballot, since no other candidates filed to run.

Summary

With four significant contests —mayor, Council, treasurer and clerk — the November 4 Dearborn Heights election is shaping up to redefine the city’s leadership. The mayoral showdown between Mo Baydoun and Denise Malinowski-Maxwell will likely dominate attention, while the Council race and the treasurer’s contest will determine the makeup of city governance for years to come.

The outcome may not only replace the city’s top leadership but could also signal the direction of Dearborn Heights politics in the post-Bazzi era — whether toward continuity, reform or a generational shift led by new voices like Baydoun’s.