DEARBORN — The
long primary season is finally over. The draining campaigning was not always
positive. It escalated into personal attacks and animosity in the community.

However, the
passion, which turned into rage that bordered on madness, did not trickle down
to the polling locations on Tuesday.

Despite reports of
clashes and violations, the democratic process unfolded largely smoothly across
the city.

The Dearborn
Police Department did not return The AANews’ calls for questions on electoral
violations.

The turnout across
the city was 24.8 percent. As has been the trend in previous elections, Arab
American-dominated precincts in the east side saw a lower number of voters.
However at Lowrey Middle School, near Schaefer and Warren, the turnout matched
the city average.

The turnout in
Arab-majority east side polling locations was 17.7 percent.

The low number of
voters meant that throughout most of the day, there were more campaigners
outside the precincts than voters inside. 

The volunteers
stood around with campaign literature and searched for shade to shelter them
from the heat. When voters or apathetic pedestrians approached, campaigners
would overwhelm them with calls to support their respective candidates.

“There’s a lot of
competitive energy here,” said Nour, a 15-year-old Abbie Bazzi volunteer.

She pointed to
Susan Dabaja’s campaigners with a look of disapproval. The race for judge,
especially the Bazzi-Dabaja rivalry, had been heated. But campaigners mostly
laughed off the perceived hostility, chatting away the day.

Susan vs. Abbie

By 3 p.m., Lowrey
Middle School already had about 200 ballots cast. Campaigners at the location
told The AANews that there were issues with volunteers breaking the rules
earlier in the day, but that the general ambiance was a positive one.

Fatima Almusawi, a
campaign volunteer for state rep. candidate Abdullah Hammoud, told The AANews
that the community appeared divided mostly over the judge’s race.

“Obviously, the
Arab candidates have the attention of everyone here,” Almusawi said. “There was
a lady campaigning for Gene [Hunt] and many didn’t even know who he was. There
was a big divide for judge. It was Susan vs. Abbie all the way.”

Fay, a volunteer
for the Bazzi campaign, was driving from precinct to precinct to drop off
supplies, water and food for campaigners. She said that volunteers from both
Bazzi and Dabaja’s camps were friendly to each other.

“Susan’s
volunteers and Abbie’s volunteers are all getting along,” Fay said. “Everything
seems to be okay.”

Over at Dearborn
High, about 300 ballots were cast cumulatively at the two precincts by 4 p.m.

Sarah Jaber, a
Dabaja volunteer, said that some voters sympathized with Dabaja due to the negativity she endured.  

“The turnout rate
has been very typical of a primary,” Jaber said. “In this area, I feel like
there is more of a non-Arab vote coming out. I have seen a lot more Arab votes
than usual, though.”

Jenna Fakih, a
Bazzi campaigner, said she knew several peers who were campaigning for Dabaja,
but that they all still remain friends.

“Abbie put a lot
of work into this campaign and she deserves to win,” said Fakih. “There has
been tension, but at the end of the day everyone is going to go back to their
friends who are on either side. I’m friends with Susan’s daughter and we will
still be friends after this. This doesn’t change anything.”

At the polling
location at the First Presbyterian Church in west Dearborn, Reyan Khanji, a
Dabaja volunteer, said Arab candidates struggled to garner votes at the
precinct.

“A lot of people
already had their mind set on Gene,” Khanji said. “There was a lot of people
who were open to hear our views. I do think I pulled a lot of people to vote
for Susan.”

At Salina School
in the Southend, turnout for the Arab candidates was strong. Ali Baleed, the
executive director of the Yemeni American Benevolent Council (YABA), said
leaders in the area focused on getting as many people to the polls, regardless
of which candidates they choose to back.

“We wish there was
only one candidate for the Arab American community running for judge,” Baleed
said. “It would’ve made it easier for us. But whatever the citizens determine,
at the end of the day that’s who will represent us. From here on out, we have
to work hard on the general election when the issue becomes Hillary vs. Trump.”

Rashid Baydoun,
who ran for state rep. in 2014 in the 11th House District, had a different
perspective. He said Arab Americans should be commending the number of Arab
candidates who are running for office, rather than proclaim that it’s dividing
the community.

“It’s good when
various candidates run for office because what it does is engage people,”
Baydoun said. “Precincts like Lowery are having record numbers. What it’s doing
is turning the tides and letting people know that it’s not the west end polls
anymore that deliver the elections. You can’t discount the east end.”

Elections by the numbers

In the judge’s
race, there was a clear discrepancy in the voters’ choices across the invisible
demographic demarcation lines in the city. In the east end’s Arab majority
polling stations, Dabaja was the highest vote getter with 1,747 votes. Bazzi
was a close second with 1,558; Hunt received 500 fewer votes than her.

Bazzi performed
badly in the west side of the city, getting as few as 14 votes in one of Nowlin
School’s precincts, near Telegraph south of Michigan Ave. Hunt dominated in the
west end, where he topped Dabaja by more than 100 votes in most precincts.

The final tally
was: Hunt 6,865 votes, Dabaja 4,172, Bazzi 2,688.

Abdullah Hammoud,
who came to the elections as an outsider, was able to succeed in mobilizing
voters across the city. Hammoud won the Democratic primary for the state
representative seat in the 15th District.

He even won the
First Presbyterian Church’s precincts, which cover an integrated Arab-White
middle class neighborhood.

Hammoud also led
in every single Arab-majority precinct on the east side. His fellow candidate
Jacklin Zeidan failed in rivaling him for the Arab vote. In some east precincts,
she even came below Brian Stone and Roxanne McDonald.

Stone, who did
relatively well for a non-Arab candidate in the east, won in most polling
locations in the west. But he had to split a big chunk of the votes with
McDonald. All in All, McDonald took more White votes from Stone than Zeidan
took Arab votes from Hammoud.

The final tally was: Hammoud 3,477 votes, Stone
2,641, McDonald 1,861, Zeidan 957.