Tafelski announces bid for mayor in Dearborn
By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
Dearborn City Council President Pro-Tem Tom Tafelski is the latest person to file for office in the 2017 election, announcing his intention to run for Dearborn mayor Feb. 23.
Tafelski, 46, was elected to his fourth term on city council in November 2013. He was first elected to council in 2001, and served as council president from 2007 to 2013.
“As mayor, my pledge will be to take what I have learned from my many talks with residents and business owners and turn it into action,” he said in a press release. “Over the years, I have learned what their priorities are and what is important to their families.”
Mayors, city councils and clerks offices in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights may have different looks following the 2017 general election Nov. 7.
In Dearborn, all seven council seats, the clerk and mayor positions will be on the ballot while Dearborn Heights has four council seats, the clerk, treasurer and mayor positions also up for grabs.
Eight community members have announced their candidacy for Dearborn city council, three for mayor and three for city clerk as of press time. The candidate filing deadline for the Aug. 8 primary election is April 25.
According to the Dearborn city clerk’s office, Dearborn Public Schools Communications Assistant Leslie Herrick, Vivid Maintenance Owner and President Regan Ford and Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council Commander Sean Green, Retired Dearborn Police Command Officer Kenneth Paris and Wayne County Reserve Deputy Sheriff Commander Ramez Haidar have filed for Dearborns city council.
Dearborn residents Erin Byrnes, Nada Al-Hanooti and Rifaat Hachoun also submitted their city council application for the upcoming election.
Former state Rep. George Darany (D-15th District) said he is planning to run for city clerk in Dearborn because he feels that he can make changes at a local level. He served as state representative for six years.
Along with Darany, two other candidates, John Schimizzi and Nofila Haidar, also have filed to run for the city clerk seat.
“Our next city clerk will face many challenges, one of which will be developing strategies to allow working families easier access to the office’s services,” Haidar wrote on Facebook. “The clerk must work with and direct the staff so that our residents receive prompt and efficient service, as well accurate and helpful information.”
In addition to Tafelski, the mayor’s race has two other candidates who have put their names in the hat: businessman and developer Hakim Fakhoury and resident Edward Binkley.
In Dearborn Heights, seats set to expire are those of Joseph Kosinski, Margaret Horvath, Robert Constan and Tom Berry on the City Council, City Clerk Walter Prusiewicz and Treasurer John Riley.
Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton announced her candidacy for mayor in the city as she serves her second term on the council.
“The mayor should be a vital and active communications link between the people and the city,” she said in a press release. “In my role as a long-time community advocate, representing many organizations, as well as our residents, I’m constantly in touch with both citizens and business owners. I understand their needs and desires.”
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])