DEARBORN — As election season draws closer, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) will soon begin their process of interviewing candidates, in order to determine who will receive the organization’s endorsement, before the August 6 primary.

Formed in 1998, AAPAC’s membership consists of a diverse group of Arab American professionals, who work to organize and encourage the political activities of Arab Americans. They lobby on behalf of Arab American political causes that may be of concern to the community, and bring forth these issues to candidates who are seeking office.

Every election season, the organization conducts interviews with candidates who wish to be endorsed by AAPAC. These candidates are required to submit an endorsement request in writing.  From that point on, AAPAC members conduct extensive research on their political history, which includes voting records, public statements and positions they may have taken on various issues in previous years.  

Questions are then drawn up, and the candidate must participate in a closed-door meeting with AAPAC members for an interview. Once the interview is concluded, two-thirds of AAPAC members, who are in good standing, must approve the candidate’s endorsement.  The voting process usually occurs anytime after the candidates have been interviewed.  However, all members are informed days ahead of the scheduled vote and are encouraged to attend to place their vote.

In order for a member to be in good standing with AAPAC, they must pay an annual fee of $200 and, at the very least, attend meetings occasionally. Members cannot place an endorsement vote if they have not been in good standing with the organization for at least one month.  

The money from membership dues are used to help facilitate AAPAC projects/activities, which include a newsletter, slates that are created and distributed on election days, the solicitation of volunteers who are placed at local precincts, an annual dinner held every fall, and a “Meet the Candidates” night. 

Hammoud (L) with Bazzi discuss details at last year’s AAPAC banquet.

So far this year, eight out of Dearborn’s 23 city council candidates have asked to be interviewed by AAPAC. The committee has scheduled an interview process that will take place on the evening of June 19 at The Arab American News office, located on Chase Road.  AAPAC will not endorse more than seven city council candidates, as only seven vacancies are available in that particular race. It is, however, not guaranteed that they will endorse a total of seven candidates. 

“We look for candidates that are open-minded, up to date and knowledgeable of our issues, regardless of whether they are a Republican, or Democrat,” Attorney Ali Hammoud, AAPAC’s Vice President and endorsement chair, stated.  “As long as they work with us and know how to move forward with our issues, we will endorse them. These are just some of the factors that we always take into consideration.” 

Two of the city council candidates that are seeking an AAPAC endorsement are AAPAC members themselves. Attorneys Tarek Baydoun and Susan Dabaja, who are both seeking one of the seven available seats in this year’s city council race, will not be receiving special treatment by AAPAC. They will be required to take the same steps as all other candidates who are seeking the organization’s endorsement. 

Hammoud says that they never pre-determine if a candidate will get AAPAC’s endorsement, and they aren’t biased to just Arab American candidates. Additionally, Hammoud states that both Baydoun and Dabaja will not be present in the room when they are interviewing other candidates, so as to avoid creating a disadvantage for the candidates who are not AAPAC members. 

However, despite having scheduled interviews for several of Dearborn’s city council candidates, the organization says that they have yet to hear from both the Dearborn and Dearborn Heights Mayoral candidates. The position in both cities is expected to be challenged by a few, but, because Dearborn Heights does not have a primary, momentum in the City has not yet picked up. 

Dearborn will, however, hold a primary race. In addition to Mayor Jack O’Reilly, who is seeking re-election, two Arab American candidates are also vying for the position this time around. However, they have yet to reach out to the Arab American community, and AAPAC will not endorse candidates just because they are Arab American.

AAPAC president, Attorney Mariam Bazzi, says that the organization takes its nomination process seriously, and they are required to stick to the guidelines of the organization. 

“People need to understand that they need to send us a written request. This is a serious part of our nomination process. I want to make sure everybody understands that it can be something as simple as an email, as long as it’s in written form,” Bazzi said. 

Additionally, Bazzi says that she would like to address some misconceptions that may have occurred among some candidates, who have suggested that they were intimidated from seeking an endorsement from the organization.

“I think it’s important for people to understand that we are open and transparent, and that we are open to talking to anyone. I think it’s shameful that people are getting intimidated. AAPAC has shown that it takes its process seriously, and we are willing to sit with any candidate that wants our endorsement. We are going to pick the most qualified candidates, and it’s important to the community that we have the best candidates selected, regardless of where they are from, what they do, and what their background is,” Bazzi added. 

After the primary election, endorsed candidates, who have already been interviewed by AAPAC, will not be asked to be interviewed again.  However, two-thirds of the membership will, once again, have to vote for them to be officially endorsed in the General Election as well. Candidates who did not seek an endorsement during the primary election can still seek an endorsement from the organization for the General Election. 

Please visit www.aapac.org for more information on the organization, or write to: AAPAC, P.O. Box 925, Dearborn, MI 48121