DEARBORN —  “We’ve accomplished a lot things that many critics will try to brush off,” said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano.

Ficano, a former Wayne County sheriff, assumed his duties as county executive in 2003 and is hoping to earn a fourth four-year term. He faces a tough primary challenge next month. But even as his administration is under investigation by the FBI, Ficano is emphasizing his achievements while on the campaign trail.

He is asking residents to move on from the corruption charges against several of his former aides. 

“I take full responsibility, as I’m the person at the top,” Ficano said.  “There’s nobody that goes through life where a colleague doesn’t betray them. We had some people that betrayed the public trust. Since then we’ve strengthened our Ethics Board that reviews items that are presented and we’ve brought new people in. It happened three years ago and its time we move on.” 

Ficano said his administration’s biggest achievement has been securing and creating more jobs for Wayne County residents, particularly in the auto industry. He said his administration has solidified thousands of jobs through tax incentives that have strengthened the Wayne Ford Assembly Plant, the Trenton Engine Plant, and GM’s Poletown plant.

He also noted that the county stepped in at the 11th hour to save the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), which was switching over from a non-profit to a for-profit system and would’ve been subjected to property taxes on all their buildings. However, under the auspices of the Renaissance Zone program, a collaboration between the county, Detroit and the state which gives tax incentives to residents and businesses, DMC’s property taxes have been abated for up to 12 years.

Last year, Detroit fell under the control of an emergency manager, leading to speculation that Wayne County might find itself following that same path. Ficano said such a scenario is no longer on the horizon. 

“We have fiscal stability now,” he said. “We are not going to have an emergency manager and we are not going to have a consent order. We submitted a deficit elimination plan that has been tentatively approved by the state and approved by the board of commissioners.” 

Despite the fact that Wayne County has lost nearly $345 million in property tax values since 2009, Ficano believes it still has an upper-hand over the neighboring counties of Oakland and Macomb. The county is home to an international airport, a major cross-border and an intermodal system that ushers in thousands of daily visitors. 

Ficano added that despite what pundits have been saying, Wayne County has been economically stable these last few years. 

“Since 2009, 43 percent of investments in the state are coming from Wayne county,” he said. “Thirty-eight percent of jobs being created in the state are also coming from the county. We are still the economic engine that drives the area. We have strong assets that we need to continue to build on.” 

With a predominantly Arab American population in Dearborn and a predominantly African American population in Detroit, Ficano said his administration has been and will continue to be a coalition of people representing the county’s communities. During his time in office, he’s often reached out to various communities to learn about their concerns. He has built a loyal following in the Arab American community, a large portion of whom are backing his bid for re-election.  

This week,  the Rev. Wendell Anthony and the Fannie Lou Hamer Political Action Committee also extended their support to Ficano. Anthony, who is also president of the Detroit Branch NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) founded the PAC in 1991.

“I go beyond diversity, which is an overused and abused word. The key word is inclusion,” Ficano said. “If you take a snapshot of my administration, you will see people of color. Arab Americans, African Americans and women who are all qualified to make decisions. It gives you a whole different perspective when you make decisions.”

Ficano is also aware of the contributions the Arab American community has made in the county. He said Arab Americans entrepreneurs have brought unique ideas to the table and have helped strengthened the county’s business districts. He’s also aware of challenges that have set the community back, including insurance redlining and national banks closing down random accounts.

“I’ve heard stories and stories of banks closing down accounts and telling law abiding business owners that they can’t operate,” he said. “It’s a discriminatory practice. A lot of times there’s no rhyme or reason behind it. Banks have right to lend to whoever they want, but to close accounts of business owners who never broke the law and have never had a late payment is just wrong and it should not be happening.”

Ficano said there’s still plenty of unfinished business that he would like to focus on, including strengthening business economies in various communities.  At a county level, he would like to look into tax incentives that could potentially help struggling business districts. 

He cited Michigan Ave. in west Dearborn as an example of an area that is not living up to its full potential. He believes that district should be more prone to innovative businesses models that typically lure in young customers and create an “event”-like  atmosphere.  

“When you look at Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, it should have the same potential as Royal Oak and Wyandotte,” Ficano said.  “It should be a magnet for young people and businesses to thrive. Royal Oak and Wyandotte have events every third Friday of the month that bring people in. Michigan Avenue should be thriving to that magnitude.” 

Wayne County’s roads have also taken a drastic hit, with a harsh winter season causing many of them to deteriorate. Ficano said his administration has taken active measures to get the ball rolling on repairing some of the roads and is looking to get cooperation from local municipalities. 

He said the county and other entities have pooled more than $14 million dollars for road repairs and are going to communities with a 80 percent county, 20 percent municipality match scale. Lack of federal aid funds has only allocated the county with enough money to cover 12-17 miles of road repairs annually, even though the county maintains 740 miles of roads. 

Despite the lack of funds, Wayne County was still able to hire 70 people to do additional patch repairs during the severe winter season. He said the county has managed to make progress with very little resources. 

“We’ve been very proactive,” Ficano said.  “We’ve pushed on federal legislatures to take action and it’s currently being fought in Washington. We’ve also pushed the state to come back with additional revenue for our roads. When we bought salt, we were able to do it strategically by leveraging a large amount.” 

While on the campaign trail, Ficano has had to constantly tackle questions regarding the stalled Wayne County Jail Project, which halted construction last year when an audit revealed it was nearly $100 million over budget. Ficano blames the blunder on AECOM Technical Services, Inc, the project’s program manager, which he said failed to stay within the county’s budget. 

He promised that the Wayne County Jail will be built and opened, but whether it will be at the original planned location at Gratiot and St. Antoine or at an alternative site at an unused jail facility on Mound Road remains to be seen. 

The primary is August 5.