DEARBORN — The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) has selected Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Mariam Bazzi as the organization’s president for a fourth term, as they look to spark some momentum in the community ahead of this year’s municipality race. 

All AAPAC members in good standing were eligible to vote for the organization’s presidential candidate. Bazzi ran unopposed for the position. 

As president of the organization for three consecutive years, Bazzi says she’s grateful that her colleagues appreciate where the organization stands today.

“It’s wonderful to know the other people in the organization have been happy with how I’ve represented and lead them so far. It goes to show that they have confidence in what I have done, and we’ve made the right decisions and gone in the right direction. I’m very humble that they chose to re-elect me,” Bazzi stated.

Bazzi says the responsibility of the organization is to be the voice of the community in a climate where Arab Americans have been overlooked in previous years. The organization goes through a rigorous process before selecting what they believe are the right candidates to represent the community year-after- year. The AAPAC slate of candidate are then distributed through mail to eligible voters and handed out on election days at polling locations. 

Bazzi.

This year there will be a couple of familiar candidates running for office. Attorneys Susan Dabaja and Tarek Baydoun, both of whom are AAPAC members, are seeking positions in Dearborn’s city council. Bazzi says both candidates will still need to follow the same protocols as any other candidate that asks for their backing. 

“Our endorsement process is fair, and no one will be given an advantage. I think the only advantage they have is that they understand the endorsement process. But of course  we still need to vote on it, and we haven’t finalized those dates yet. I do have confidence that they are great candidates and I’m excited about their candidacy,” Bazzi stated.  

Bazzi is aiming to promote an open door ideology this year with AAPAC. She hopes the organization can collaborate with other significant local groups, so that they are all on the same page. In previous years, there may have been some disagreements with particular candidates amongst prominent Arab American organizations. Bazzi says the most important factor in an election is not about what candidates they are supporting, but more-so about getting as many people as possible out to vote.

“We know how important local elections are, whether it’s the ordinances that affect our homes, taxes or anything else; it’s important that we all come together collectively to support the same people and support the same agendas so that we can make sure the community is being heard in a way that can be beneficiary. Sometimes there might be people who want to vote for candidates we have not endorsed, and I’d still encourage them to go out there and vote for those candidates. They need to make sure that their voices are being heard regardless, and that can only happen if they go to the polls and vote,” Bazzi says.

Bazzi attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn for her Bachelor’s in Political Science, and graduated from Wayne State Law School in 2005. Since then, she’s been keeping busy. Married, and a mother of three, she began volunteering at the Wayne Country Prosecutors Office before hired into a full time position as assistant prosecutor.

She hopes her work at Wayne County, as well as her work in AAPAC, can lead to more success stories for the community. She cites last year’s election as an example.

“I want this community to understand, and I hope they see that we are working very hard.  I think the success of the last election shows the strengths and power of the Arab vote.  It was so great to see those long lines at the polls, especially in east Dearborn, and those results we had in the last election were phenomenal. Hopefully people will see that this year’s race is just as important,” Bazzi said.