Detroit voters will go to the polls on May 5 to choose who will serve out the remainder of disgraced ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s term, while Dearborn Heights Crestwood school district voters will choose two of four board of education candidates, two of whom are Arab Americans.

Dave Bing

Mayoral candidates Dave Bing and Ken Cockrel Jr. have each gained their share of high-profile endorsements in recent weeks.
Bing has received support from the Detroit Firefighters Association, the Detroit retired Police and Firefighters Association, the Detroit EMS Technicians and the Laborers Local 1191.

Ken Cockrel Jr.

The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have both also endorsed Bing.
The News said Cockrel has served as interim mayor “competently,” since replacing Kilpatrick in September, but that he “comes from the political system that has failed Detroit.”

The endorsement described Bing as having national stature that “will force outsiders to take a new look at Detroit and where it’s headed.”  

Meanwhile, the Detroit Police Officers Association, United Auto Workers Union, the Service Employees International Union, and the 14th Congressional District Democratic Party, led by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, have all endorsed Cockrel.

“His experience and understanding of Detroit’s problems make him an ideal fit for these difficult circumstances,” said 14th Congressional District Democratic Party committee member Ron Scott. “In a short period of time, Mayor Cockrel has already made a real difference.”

Zenna Elhasan

In the Dearborn Heights Crestwood school board elections, candidates Zenna Elhasan and Wanda Saad are challenging incumbent board members Ron Panetta and Ed Garcia.
Elhasan and Saad, who are Arab, are running in a city where ethnic tensions have played a role in previous elections.

But Arab Americans Tom Berry, elected to city council in 2005, and David Turfe, elected a judge in 2006, have overcome the perceived prejudice barrier.

Wanda Saad

Saad, 43, has four children who have attended Crestwood schools and has served as a volunteer on several school improvement teams.
“I want to take the commitment I brought to those events to a new level,” she said. “I am a passionate advocate for placing educational excellence first. We need to continue to improve student learning and provide quality instruction in classrooms by supporting our teachers, students, and parents.”

Elhasan, 31, is an attorney with Detroit law firm Allen Brothers. She has three small children, serves as assistant corporation counsel for the city and is a member of the Dearborn Heights Chamber of Commerce.

The city’s Westwood school district also has two incumbent board members, Luisa Donfried and Gregory Stephens, running for re-election on May 5 against challengers Willie L. Smith, Kevin King and Mario Fundarski.

An April 6 candidate forum for both the Crestwood and Westwood elections is being aired every day on public access cable channel WDHT — channel 12 on Comcast and channel 10 on WOW — at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.