DEARBORN — It was an historic triumph for the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) on Election Day as every one of their 19 endorsements emerged victorious.

Husband and wife Khaled and Hana Odeh vote at McDonald Elementary School on Tuesday.           PHOTOS: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

Judge Diane Hathaway pulled off an upset for Michigan Supreme Court justice by defeating incumbent Cliff Taylor. The Republican Party came out with a TV ad late last week that said Hathaway was lenient to an Arab defendant who was falsely associated with terrorism but Hathaway was still able to defeat Taylor in a race that is usually won by the incumbent candidate.
AAPAC was founded in 1998 and 2008 was the 11th time they’ve endorsed candidates in elections. AAPAC President Osama Siblani (who also publishes The Arab American News) talked about the important role the organization played in the elections.

“The results show the organization has credibility on the ground, in particular in the dogfight on the school board and in the judges’ race,” he said. “We are very happy and we worked very hard on this election. We wrote literature, passed fliers out, interviewed, and even had a successful debate between the two (19th District judge) candidates that was broadcast twice on the city’s cable network.”

The biggest local races of interest were for the Dearborn School Board and for 19th District judge.

On the school board, AAPAC-endorsed candidates Aimee Blackburn and Mary Lane won by solid margins, garnering 30.6% and 24.9% of the votes respectively in the five-person race.

Arab Americans vote at Salina Elementary School in Dearborn on Tuesday. Precincts 20 and 21 in the city are made up primarily of Arab Americans of Yemeni descent. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

The judicial race between incumbent Mark W. Somers and challenger Candyce Abbatt was much closer, however, as Somers won by just 228 votes, or approximately 50.2% to 49.5%.
Somers said he was surprised the race was so close.

“I thought the margin would be wider but I had an opponent who spent an incredible amount of money,” he said. “I haven’t seen the final figures but it would appear I was outspent on the level of 4-to-1.”

Somers said that the support of AAPAC and also YAPAC (the (Yemeni American Political Action Committee) meant a great deal to him in the race.

“I have not looked at individual precinct numbers, but I have no doubt whatsoever that the AAPAC and YAPAC endorsements were essential components of my win on Tuesday,” he said.

The Abbatt campaign distributed a flier near the final days of the election that pictured her on the front with prominent Arab American and local attorney Michael Berry saying that he endorsed Abbatt. The flier, addressed to the Arab American community and featuring the names of some Arab endorsers, said that they “lament that AAPAC holds itself out as a voice for the entire community. It is not!”

The flier also said that Somers won the AAPAC endorsement by a “narrow margin,” but Somers won the vote by the organization’s required 2/3 majority.

When asked about the flier, Berry took a shot at AAPAC, calling them a “non-existent organization” and questioning them for “taking a position against the entire community” in the 19th District judicial race by endorsing Somers. Berry also said that the election results for the race in east Dearborn, home to the majority of Arabs in the city, would prove his point, but Somers actually won in that segment of the community.

Siblani responded to Berry’s comments.

“The numbers show that AAPAC made history and all you have to do is look at the slate; every single candidate that was endorsed won,” he said.

“The education board candidates (Aimee Blackburn and Mary Lane) won by a huge margin while Berry went around by himself endorsing Sharon Dulmage, himself going against the will of the entire community. He never made mention of that. Dulmage was soundly defeated.”

Siblani thought that the flier did more harm than good to the Abbatt campaign.

“If those fliers had said ‘Support Candyce Abbatt’ instead of attacking AAPAC, she could have been the winner. But she chose the negative way and she ended up paying for it.

“I personally am very disappointed with Candyce Abbatt and more disappointed with Mike Berry, a political veteran who spent all his life making history but failed big-time in this election and failed in a way that is very shameful doing something like this to the community.”

Abbatt said she was happy to have the support of Berry and so many people in Dearborn while also re-iterating her love for the city.

“I was better than I thought at politics but I really thought I’d be a great judge,” she said.

Abbatt added that she didn’t know her plans for her future political career yet but said she is considering a possible recount.

“The recount probably won’t change who won but it may put to rest some questions people might have,” she said.

Abbatt also came in to The Arab American News office in Dearborn after the election to meet with Siblani and AAPAC Endorsement Chairman Abed Hammoud to discuss the matter privately. Siblani said she apologized for attacking the organization.

She acknowledged that she could have done things a little differently in her campaign.

“Sometimes it’s harder to lose a close election and you second guess and look at small opportunities you had to change things,” she said.

Somers was happy to retain his position as judge but even happier for the people who helped him in his quest.

“There comes a point, especially in a heated race, where you want to win for the people that supported you and not for your own sake, like you don’t want to let anyone down,” he said.

“I feel relief and joy and honest to goodness, those are the people you think of first. On the other hand, it is nice to be returned to office, too.”