DEARBORN – This election year, while Jack O’Reilly looks to fill the mayoral seat for another four-year term, another candidate, Edward Binkley, is looking to challenge him, by reaching out to local voters on a personal level.

Binkley says he is unfamiliar with politics and lacks the expertise that a typical candidate would perhaps offer. But, with a genuine concern over the City’s future and a plausible platform by his side, his appeal was strong enough to land him in second place in the Primary in August, even if it was to O’Reilly’s wide marginal first place finish. 

Binkley

Binkley has lived, on and off, in Dearborn for over 30 years and is best known as a volunteer civil war re-inactor at the Dearborn Historical Museum. A Navy veteran, he says that he has had over 250 jobs in his lifetime, including being a garbage man, a stock boy at Rite Aid, a newspaper carrier and, his current job, a stock person at a local BP gas station. He attended HFCC, where he studied business management.  

He says that he hopes residents aren’t judgmental with regard to his run for Mayor.  He compares his lack of experience to that of Abraham Lincoln, who he says learned everything as he went along. Binkley says he would donate $100,000 of his salary, on a yearly basis as Mayor, back towards four specific City initiatives.

He would like to start a public awareness initiative for east Dearborn residents, who are lacking neighborhood watch programs and aren’t aware of potential safety hazards in their homes. His second initiative would be implementing a shuttle bus system for senior citizens, handicapped individuals and college students to local libraries and business districts.

He would also like to start a Youth Core program in Dearborn, where children are able to get assistance from federal and State grants. Lastly, he would like to put aside about $25,000 a year, until there is enough money to restore Henry Ford Centennial Library’s fountain, which was a well known tourist attraction in the past.

Binkley says that he disagrees with Mayor O’Reilly’s recent decision to sell City Hall to ArtSpace. He explains that he would have used the Severstal donation money to pay off the City’s parking structure debts in west Dearborn, so that parking could be free for residents and visitors. 

“Smaller businesses are the ones that are hurting, because of the parking issue,” Binkley says. “Any new business that opens in west Dearborn has to deal with lease rates and paid parking; making it nearly impossible to survive. We aren’t going to make any money if we aren’t going to have businesses.” 

Binkley says he also wants to buckle down on crime in the City, by finding unique ways to fill in the gap for 19 recently laid off police officers. He says that the Dearborn Police Department officers, who work desk jobs, should each rotate and patrol neighborhoods in the evenings. He also admits that there is a communication barrier with police officers and Arab American residents.

“I think Arab Americans have contributed heavily to this City, and we have a lot to learn from each other. I’m willing to learn the language, the culture and also require each police officer to learn the Arabic language. How are any of them able to interact with residents who are bilingual?” Binkley asks. 

Binkley says he has not wasted any money on his campaign for Mayor, or asked for funds from residents. In total, he has, so far, spent only $176. He has handmade 50 yard signs out of card board, paper and wooden slates. He interacts with residents by door-to-door knocking and visiting local restaurants and bars to introduce his self. 

Binkley can be reached at edbinkley1963@aol.com., or via his facebook page.