HAMTRAMCK — This city, the only municipality in the United States where all elected officials are Muslim, is heading toward an intense election on November 4, featuring a fierce mayoral contest between Yemeni American candidate Adam Alharbi and Bangladeshi American City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, alongside a competitive City Council race for three open seats.

The mayoral showdown

This year’s mayoral race highlights the ongoing political competition between Hamtramck’s two largest ethnic Muslim communities, Yemeni Americans and Bangladeshi Americans, in a city of roughly 27,000 residents.

Alharbi, an engineer and lifelong Hamtramck resident, aims to keep the mayor’s office in Yemeni American hands for another four years, while Mahmood hopes to become the first Bangladeshi American mayor in the city’s history.

Although Alharbi dominated the August primary, he faces a potentially tighter race in November if Mahmood succeeds in uniting the Bangladeshi vote — which was split in the primary among three candidates: Mahmood, Khan Hussain and Mr. Bangladesh.

In the August primary election, Alharbi, the only non-Bangladeshi candidate, secured 53 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for Mahmood, 13 percent for Hussain and 2.8 percent for Mr. Bangladesh.

If those votes combine behind Mahmood in November, analysts predict a neck-and-neck finish, especially as voter turnout is expected to increase.

The next mayor will succeed Amer Ghalib, the Yemeni American who made history in 2021 as the first Arab and Muslim mayor of Hamtramck. Ghalib chose not to seek re-election as he awaits U.S. Senate confirmation for his nomination by President Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, a process still pending more than six months after being announced.

Candidates’ backgrounds and priorities

Adam Alharbi, 44, told The Arab American News that his decision to run stems from “a deep understanding of Hamtramck’s needs” as a graduate of its public schools and a lifelong resident.

With more than 20 years of experience in engineering and management, Alharbi said he has the tools “to identify and solve the city’s most pressing problems through practical, achievable solutions.”

Alharbi’s top priority is rebuilding Hamtramck’s aging infrastructure, including roads, alleys and the city’s water and sewer systems.

“Our roads are in terrible condition, and our infrastructure is outdated,” he said. “These are not luxuries but essentials for a city to thrive. If elected, I’ll move quickly to launch a comprehensive and sustainable plan for improvement.”

Muhith Mahmood, 52, has served on the Hamtramck City Council since early 2022. He immigrated from Bangladesh to Michigan in 2000, earned an associate’s degree from a local college and previously studied Islamic history before moving to the U.S. He is married with three children; Alharbi has five.

Mahmood’s campaign emphasizes fiscal responsibility and infrastructure development. He co-founded the nonprofit Helping Hands and previously chaired the Bangladeshi American Democratic Caucus of Michigan.

However, Mahmood faces an ongoing Michigan State Police investigation into allegations that he resides in Troy, not Hamtramck — a potential violation of the city charter, which requires elected officials to live within city limits. The investigation has been pending since May, with no public update to date.

Political alignments and partisan context

Although Hamtramck’s elections are officially nonpartisan, party allegiances could influence the outcome. Mahmood’s close ties to the Democratic Party may prove advantageous in this historically blue, working-class city.

Unlike Mayor Ghalib and several Council members — Abu Musa, Khalil Refai and Muhtasin Sadman — who endorsed Trump in 2024, Mahmood remained a Democrat, supporting former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign despite her declining popularity among Arab and Muslim voters due to her stance on the Israeli war on Gaza.

In the 2024 presidential election, Harris won 48 percent of Hamtramck’s vote, compared to 42 percent for Trump, who gained 2,291 votes, more than doubling his 2020 total.

In the August primary, Alharbi received 1,931 votes, compared to 1,039 for Mahmood, 470 for Hussain, and 102 for Mr. Bangladesh.

City Council race: Six candidates for three seats

Six candidates are competing for three open seats on the Hamtramck City Council, following the elimination of six others in the August primary.
The finalists are:

• Abu Musa, 1,129 votes (incumbent)

• Nayeem Choudhury, 1,053 votes (former Councilman)

• Yousef Saed, 909 votes (Somali American; second run after 2023 loss)

• Motahar Fadhel, 900 votes (Yemeni American)

• Abdulmalik Y. Kassim, 814 votes (Yemeni American)

• Luqman Saleh, 812 votes (Yemeni American)

The top three vote-getters in November will win seats on the six-member Council, which is presided over by the mayor.
The current Council includes four Bangladeshi American and two Yemeni American members, all Muslims.

An election that reflects Hamtramck’s diversity

The 2025 Hamtramck elections capture the city’s unique social fabric and the delicate balance between its Yemeni and Bangladeshi communities — both deeply rooted, politically active and proud of their shared Muslim identity.

As Hamtramck prepares for another historic election, the results will help shape the next chapter of Arab and South Asian political collaboration and Muslim representation in Michigan.