Nine candidates competing for three seats in Tuesday’s Dearborn Heights City Council Primary
August 3rd, 20191 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Nine candidates, including three incumbents, are competing for three seats in the Aug. 6 Dearborn Heights City Council primary election. Incumbents Dave Abdallah, Lisa Hicks-Clayton and Ray Muscat are competing for the seats, along with Jamal Bazzi, Larry Henney, Stephen Henry, Nadine Jones, Rose Tripepi and...
Six Muslims among nine candidates competing for three seats on Hamtramck City Council
August 3rd, 20190 HAMTRAMCK — Nine Hamtramck City Council candidates, including six Muslims, will face off on Aug. 6 for three seats, with the top six vote getters going on to compete in the November 5 general elections. The six Muslim candidates are Nayeem Choudhury, Mohammed Alsomiri, Anam Miah, Abu Musa, Saad Almasmari and Mohammed...
Presidential debate in Detroit energizes voters and organizers in Dearborn
August 3rd, 20190 DETROIT — The Democratic primary debate that took place July 30 left the audience with a comprehensive idea of which candidates seem to stand a chance of winning the nomination, what their plans entail and just how each of them could be right for Detroit, specifically, and Michigan at large. Despite competing for voters at the left...
Candidates spar over immigration, healthcare on day two of the Democratic presidential debates in Detroit
August 3rd, 20190 DETROIT — Day two of the Democratic presidential debate at the Fox Theatre touched on many topics of great importance to the Arab American community, including the immigration crisis and selecting a candidate capable of defeating President Trump in 2020. Candidates included former vice president Joe Biden of Delaware; California...
Candidate Jamal Bazzi talks about his bid for City Council, vision of “stronger Dearborn Heights”
July 29th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Business owner and longtime Dearborn Heights resident Jamal Bazzi has announced his run for one of three City Council seats in the Aug. 6 primary election. He took time during a busy day of campaigning and knocking on doors in the city this week to talk to The Arab American News about his background and his hopes...
Presidential candidate Andrew Yang dismissive of problematic U.S.-Israeli relationship
July 28th, 20197 DETROIT – As Democratic candidates gear up for 2020’s presidential election, many have reached out to ethnic communities to garner support and spread awareness of their platforms. Outside of some notable candidates, some of whom have been part of the Washington political machinery for decades, this year’s field includes...
National polls don’t mean much. Here’s why.
July 22nd, 20190 "Here we go with the Fake Polls," President Trump tweeted on July 15. "Just like what happened with the election against Crooked Hillary Clinton." He's complaining about several polls that show him losing the national popular vote to various Democratic presidential aspirants, in some cases by double digits. He has a point. In 2016,...
Let’s not just focus on elections, but on how we elect
July 22nd, 20190 A few years ago, I was at a polling place here in Indiana where a long line of people stood waiting to vote. A woman recognized me and called me over. “Why is it,” she asked, “that you politicians make it so hard and inconvenient to vote?” I thought of this the other day when I read the news reports about presidents Trump and...
Dearborn Heights Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton seeks civility and transparency in local government
July 13th, 20191 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – City Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton has served on the Dearborn Heights City Council for two consecutive terms and hopes to continue serving the city’s residents. With the primary election coming up on Aug. 6, Hicks-Clayton, who will be one of nine candidates competing for three seats, spoke to The Arab American...
Bernie Sanders proposes canceling entire $1.6 trillion in U.S. student loan debt
June 24th, 20190 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a bill on Monday eliminating all $1.6 trillion of student debt held in the United States, two days before the candidates' first debate in Miami, adding to the 2020 policy fight of the Democratic presidential primary. Sanders' proposal suggests that the federal government pay to wipe clean the student...
Community holds fundraiser for prosecutor Kym Worthy in Dearborn
June 22nd, 20190 DEARBORN — Friends, supporters, well wishers, prominent community members and officials alike turned out by the dozens on Wednesday June 19 at Habib's Cuisine, supporting one of the most respected prosecutors in the country, Kym Worthy, for her upcoming bid for reelection. Worthy, who recently joined with Michigan Solicitor General...
Officials and community members gather to support Dave Abdallah’s re-election campaign kick-off
June 14th, 20190 Dearborn Heights – Councilman Dave Abdallah kicked off his campaign to be reelected to the Dearborn Heights City Council on Wednesday. The event, held at Bellagio Banquet Hall in Dearborn Heights, hosted several city officials and community members. Supporters and well-wishers included The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani,...
Federal court: Michigan must redraw congressional, legislative maps
April 26th, 20190 DETROIT — A panel of federal judges ordered Michigan's Republican-controlled legislature to redraw nearly three dozen state and U.S. congressional districts on Thursday, saying that the existing boundaries dilute the power of Democratic voters. The panel of three judges said that the current maps drawn by Republicans represent a...
Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announces presidential campaign
March 9th, 20190 DENVER — Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Monday that he is launching a 2020 campaign for president. He made the announcement in a video called "Standing Tall", which follows Hickenlooper's life from laid-off geologist, to owner of a brew pub, to mayor of Denver and to governor. Hickenlooper implies in the video...
Hillary Clinton rules out run for president in 2020
March 9th, 20190 WASHINGTON D.C. — Hillary Clinton announced she won’t run for president in 2020, but said she’s “not going anywhere.” The former secretary of state, senator and first lady ruled out a presidential campaign during an interview posted Monday by a New York TV station. “I’m going to keep on working and speaking and......
Sanders chooses Muslim American to manage his presidential campaign
February 22nd, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) chose Faiz Shakir, a Muslim American, to serve as his campaign manager for his second run for president. Shakir previously served as national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union since early 2017. Before his position at the ACLU he worked as a senior advisor to...
California Democrat Kamala Harris declares candidacy for president
January 24th, 20190 WASHINGTON — In what is becoming a highly diverse field, California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris declared her candidacy for president on Monday, entering on the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday. Harris, who became the second African American woman to serve in the United States Senate, declared her candidacy in the same......
Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard announces run for president in 2020
January 14th, 20190 With the 2020 presidential race less than 22 months away, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has decided to make her candidacy official. Gabbard announced her intention to run this past Friday on CNN's 'The Van Jones Show,' on an episode that was slated to air Saturday night. “There are a lot of reasons for me to make this...
McCormack elected chief justice of Michigan Supreme Court
January 14th, 20190 LANSING - In an unanimous vote by her colleagues, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack was elected chief justice on Wednesday, making this the first time in the state's history that the offices of governor, attorney general, secretary of state and chief justice are all held by women. McCormack succeeds Steve Markman, the...
Latino-Arab American Ammar Campa-Najjar narrowly lost in midterms, plans to run in 2020
January 7th, 20190 SAN DIEGO - In November, Ammar Campa-Najjar hoped to become the first Latino Arab-American member of Congress. Though he was facing off against Rep. Duncan Hunter – who with an ongoing finance scandal is embroiled in controversy – he faced an uphill battle. The 50th Congressional District in California – which encompasses parts of...
Among my biggest disappointments in politics
December 14th, 20180 The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off-the-cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life: The ongoing effort by politicians to suppress......
Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson announces transition team
November 24th, 20180 LANSING— Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson has announced her transition committee, which will guide her preparation to assume the role of Michigan’s chief motor vehicle administrator and chief election officer, on January 1. “I am honored that two leaders and mentors I respect and admire, Senator Levin and Commissioner...
The real midterm elections wave wasn’t blue, it was Muslim
November 22nd, 20180 The Muslims are no longer coming—they are here! Well, in reality Muslims have been in America and contributing to it even before the nation was formed, since approximately 15 percent of the slaves from Africa were Muslim. But now Muslim Americans are “here” in a whole new way as a record number won their elections on Nov. 6.......
Mississippi Senate race may be defining moment for Black voters
November 17th, 20180 JACKSON, MS — U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) remark to a colleague that “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row” puts the Magnolia State at center stage for Black voters in the 2018 midterm elections. Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings in the United States between 1882 and 1968,...
Dana Nessel announces her transition team, including two Arab Americans
November 13th, 20180 LANSING - Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel recruited a team of experts to assist with the transition as she prepares to take office as Michigan’s 55th attorney general on Jan. 1. Nessel chose former Attorney General Frank Kelley, who served as Michigan’s AG for 37 years, as chair of her team. He was the longest-serving......
