DEARBORN – Voters across Michigan can now request absentee ballots by mail for the upcoming local elections on Tuesday, November 4. The elections will include mayoral races, City Council contests, clerk positions and ballot initiatives in many municipalities across the state.

In Dearborn, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud will seek a second term, facing Nagi Almudhegi, a Republican-leaning challenger who advanced directly to the general election after no other candidates filed to run.

Absentee ballots began going out to Dearborn voters last week. In addition to the mayoral race, the ballot will feature:

• A contest among 13 candidates for seven City Council seats.
• The race for city clerk between incumbent George Darany and challenger Sami Elhadi.
• A major referendum to decide whether to divide the city into seven electoral wards.

Hammoud: Experience and record of achievement

Hammoud, 35, enters the race with a clear advantage, backed by his strong record in public service and a long list of accomplishments during his four years as mayor.

His administration has overseen the creation of new parks in all sectors of the city, improvements in public health and traffic safety, anti-pollution measures, reduced crime rates, the launch of the Warren Avenue revitalization project and significant support for small businesses. Importantly, Hammoud balanced three consecutive budgets without raising taxes.

Previously, Hammoud served as a Democratic state representative (2017–2021) for Dearborn. As mayor, he has secured more than $120 million in state and federal funding for city projects, established a Public Health Department and launched Rx Kids, a pioneering program that provides cash assistance to expectant mothers and newborns.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s tenure has been marked by balanced budgets, the creation of new parks, improvements to infrastructure, enhancements in public health, crime reduction and flood prevention, and other achievements, including securing nearly $120 million in government grants.

Hammoud’s administration has also invested $25 million in stormwater management and flood prevention following devastating rainstorms. These measures include expanded green spaces, clearing Rouge River blockages, new pumping systems and proactive storm drain maintenance.

A Dearborn native and Fordson High School graduate, Hammoud holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Michigan–Dearborn, a master’s in public health (epidemiology and genetics) from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Ross School of Business.

Hammoud first won the mayoral seat in 2021, defeating Gary Woronchak in the general election (13,040 votes to 10,796). In the August primary that year, he topped the field with 42 percent of the vote against Woronchak, Susan Dabaja and Thomas Tafelski.

Almudhegi: A Republican-leaning challenger

Almudhegi, 50, immigrated to the U.S. from Yemen at the age of 6. He has no prior political or government experience. A Fordson High graduate and University of Michigan–Dearborn engineering alumnus, he currently works as an IT director for an auto parts supplier.

He first gained prominence in 2022, during protests demanding the banning of LGBTQ-themed books from Dearborn school libraries. Since then, he has aligned himself closely with Republican politics, supporting Tudor Dixon’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign and publicly endorsing Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.

At a press conference on September 20, Almudhegi unveiled his campaign platform seven months after declaring his candidacy in February. His proposals included cutting the mayor’s salary by 25 percent, which he noted exceeded Governor Whitmer’s pay last year; hiring more police and “tackling crime, trash and reckless driving”; and positioning himself as an engineer and “problem-solver” in contrast to “career politicians like Hammoud.”

Nagi Almudhegi

Almudhegi on the state of Dearborn today: “Crime is on the rise, garbage is everywhere, reckless driving is out of control, panhandlers are at every intersection and the smell of marijuana is everywhere!”

Almudhegi painted a grim picture of Dearborn.

“Crime is skyrocketing, garbage is everywhere, reckless driving is out of control, panhandlers are at every intersection and the smell of marijuana is everywhere,” he claimed. “This is not the Dearborn we grew up in.”

However, recent FBI report put Dearborn as the second safest city in Michigan, close behind Sterling Heights, to live in with low crime rates.

His campaign kickoff earlier this year featured Republican activists and played Trump’s campaign anthem “God Bless the U.S.A.” Almudhegi is also appealing directly to Yemeni American voters in hopes of offsetting Hammoud’s broad popularity, including within the Yemeni American community.

Clashes over identity politics

Almudhegi has also aligned himself with Ted Barham, an Islamophobic and controversial far-right Christian activist and seven-year resident with questionable motives. Almudhegi criticized Hammoud’s sharp rebuke of Barham during a City Council meeting. Hammoud had called Barham “a racist, bigot and Islamophobe” after Barham opposed naming part of Warren Avenue after The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani.

At his press conference, Almudhegi accused Hammoud of being “disrespectful and wrong by every measure” toward Barham, framing the clash as one between Muslims and Christians. He warned that Hammoud’s remark that Barham was “not welcome here” could give “the wrong impression that Christians are not welcome in Dearborn.”

During the event, with very few in attendance, Tim Rice, a local activist, further attacked Hammoud.

“The mayor insulted a Christian American citizen,” he said. “His anti-Christian remarks went viral and damaged the image of the Dearborn we built over many decades.”

However, Nathen Hayes, a longtime Christian pastor in Dearborn, had a different perspective.

“Nobody is kicking Christians out of Dearborn,” he posted on his social media. “Just because a known agitator (Barham) with a megaphone finally gets a response that he has been begging for seven years (yes, the guy has only been here — in Dearborn — for seven years). We are right here and doing our best to serve people and preach the Gospel and have great relationships throughout the city.”

An exceptional election for Dearborn

For the first time in Dearborn’s history, the mayoral race will feature two Muslim candidates — Hammoud, the city’s first Arab and Muslim mayor, and Almudhegi, also a Muslim of Yemeni descent.

The election will test not only Hammoud’s popularity and record but also the strength of Republican-aligned campaigning in a city long known for its Arab American political clout and Democratic leanings. A city with a majority of residents who are very disappointed with the Trump administration’s handling of the war in the Middle East and attacks on local immigrants.

Dearborn City Council race: 13 candidates competing for seven seats 

Thirteen candidates, including six incumbents, are vying for the seven seats on the Dearborn City Council in November. Each voter will be allowed to cast ballots for up to seven candidates in a contest that is expected to reshape the balance of the Council for the next four years.

The field includes Council President Michael Sareini, along with Council members Robert Abraham, Kamal Alsawafy, Mustapha Hammoud, Ken Paris and Gary Enos. They face seven challengers.

Earlier this year, Dearborn City Clerk George Darany disqualified Councilwoman Leslie Herrick from seeking re-election, citing unpaid campaign-related fees dating back to 2017.

The list of challengers:

• Mubarak Ahmed, businessman
• Othman Ali Alaansi, technology worker
• Shadi Mawari, healthcare employee
• Ahmad Othman, digital creator.
• Devon O’Reilly, son of the late Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly
• Sharon Dulmage, former Dearborn School Board trustee and City Charter Commission member
• Mark Andrew, retired Dearborn firefighter with 28 years of service