HAMTRAMCK — In the latest lawsuit brought against the city, suspended City Clerk Rana Faraj has accused city officials of retaliation, defamation, voter intimidation and violating Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act — one month after she was placed on paid administrative leave over alleged “interference” in the November election.

Faraj was suspended after reporting that 37 absentee ballots appeared in her office two days after polls closed in the November 4 municipal election — a race still tied up in litigation over who will become Hamtramck’s next mayor in January, replacing outgoing Mayor Amer Ghalib.

Faraj’s lawsuit accuses the city of violating state whistleblower law, civil conspiracy, defamation, denial of due process and unlawfully suspending her in a manner that caused severe emotional harm. She is requesting reinstatement, financial compensation and court orders preventing the city from retaliating further while correcting the harms she says she suffered.

Filed Friday, December 5, in Wayne County Circuit Court, the lawsuit names Mayor Ghalib, Interim City Manager Alexander Lagrou and all members of the Hamtramck City Council: Mohammed Hassan, Abu Ahmed Musa, Khalil Refai, Mohammed Alsomiri, Muhtasin Sadman and Muhith Mahmood, the mayoral candidate who continues seeking to overturn the results by pushing to count the 37 ballots found in the clerk’s office.

The Wayne County Board of Elections rejected those ballots, resulting in Yemeni American candidate Adam Alharbi winning the mayoral race by 11 votes over Bangladeshi American candidate Mahmood. Mahmood is asking the court to either count the ballots or allow the affected voters to re-cast their votes.

Alharbi, anticipating a potential reversal, filed a separate lawsuit seeking to disqualify Mahmood, arguing he violated Hamtramck’s residency requirement in the city charter. A special investigation conducted earlier this year for the city concluded that Mahmood actually lives with his wife and daughter in Troy, a claim he denies.

Judge Patricia Perez Fresard is set to hear arguments on December 12 in Wayne County Circuit Court, the day this issue goes to print. The court is expected to decide whether to count the disputed ballots and whether Mahmood meets eligibility requirements for elected office.

The two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Elections opposed counting the 37 ballots, most belonging to Bangladeshi-origin voters, citing a “broken chain of custody” for absentee ballots. According to state election rules, five individuals who were not authorized election workers entered the clerk’s office the night of November 5 and the morning of November 6, before the ballots were discovered and then turned over to county officials under police escort.

Faraj’s lawsuit identifies those five individuals as the interim city manager, the city’s maintenance director, a Hamtramck resident and two additional employees, all unaware that ballots were in the office when they entered.

Faraj was placed on administrative leave on November 10 for alleged “election interference”, a justification Interim City Manager Lagrou has refused to confirm. He said internal correspondence indicated that the leave “was not disciplinary but for her physical protection.”

The lawsuit states that the city made no attempt to correct “false media reports” implying Faraj was suspended for misconduct, despite her request for an official clarification. It also alleges that an inside source said Lagrou placed Faraj on leave after she was falsely accused of interfering with the election “in an effort to appease elected officials determined to retaliate against her.”

Retaliation allegations

Faraj alleges that city officials retaliated against her and sought to blame her for Hamtramck’s election irregularities, months after she submitted a formal complaint to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reporting illegal ballot harvesting, election worker intimidation and improper interference in election administration.

The lawsuit states that the allegations against her are “false” and part of a “coordinated effort to scapegoat her for issues she repeatedly raised.”

Her attorney is Jonathan Marko, who also represents former City Manager Max Garbarino and former police officer David Adamczyk in separate lawsuits.

“Once again, Hamtramck’s government is acting recklessly,” he said. “There is rampant corruption, misconduct and illegality among city officials.”

According to the lawsuit, Faraj spent months documenting suspicious activity, including video recordings of individuals depositing “large bundles” of ballots into absentee drop boxes. She also gathered evidence that at least two candidates did not live in Hamtramck as required by the city charter, yet they remained on the ballot.

In her March 12 complaint to Nessel, Faraj expressed “deep frustration and concern” about election integrity, documenting repeated interference by Councilman Hassan, whom she accused of ignoring election regulations for personal benefit.

“This individual has a long-documented history of undermining the election process, intimidating election workers and disregarding procedures for his own gain,” Faraj wrote, adding that he consistently obstructed her office’s efforts to administer fair elections during the 2023 City Council election cycle.

The lawsuit further notes that in April, Faraj emailed then-City Manager Garbarino and two attorneys under the subject line “Bullying/Harassment”, documenting that certain Council members reported to the Attorney General’s Office had subjected her to personal attacks during and outside Council meetings, including through her personal phone.

A broader pattern of investigations and litigation

Faraj’s lawsuit comes amid a surge of investigations and lawsuits involving Hamtramck City Hall, including the ongoing dispute over the mayoral race.

The complaint references a pattern of alleged misconduct within city institutions, including a Michigan State Police investigation into several city officials, among them former Police Chief Jamil Altaheri, Garbarino and Adamczyk, as well as disputes over charter-mandated candidate qualifications and allegations of election fraud.

In August, criminal charges were filed against Councilmen Hassan and Muhtasin Sadman, including forging a signature on an absentee ballot application and violating state election law. Hassan continues to face prosecution, while charges against Sadman were dismissed in October after witnesses failed to appear.

Separately, Garbarino and Adamczyk are suing the city for wrongful termination and discrimination.