By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – With 14 candidates running for seven City Council seats, including four incumbents, four women and with more than half identifying as Arabic, voters face a diverse group from whom to choose.
Each candidate was asked to explain, in approximately 100 words, why they were running for city council.
They also were asked to describe, in approximately 100 words, what they think is the most important issue facing the city, and why.
Robert Abraham
1. Abraham said he is running for re-election because Dearborn needs experienced leaders who value integrity, honesty, respect, and the strong tradition of excellent services and public safety.
“Our neighborhoods must be protected against crime, pollution (air, water, noise, and traffic), speeding cars, and all forms of decay,” he said. “Police, fire and ambulance services must be protected against budget reductions.”
Abraham said as a councilman, he will preserve city services during the period of transition with his 20 years of city council experience, and will help to make progress, modernize services, and preserve our past.
“The essential services, like recreation, pools, parks, museums, the library system, animal shelter, veteran services, senior housing and programs, as well as the improvement of roads, all must be high priorities for the next council and administration,” he said.
2. Abraham said the prioritization of services while balancing the budget continues to be the most important issue.
“The population is growing, and the census now exceeds 110,000,” he said. “Property values continue to increase, and the demand for excellent services at an affordable tax rate is more important than ever.”
Abraham said the city must be fiscally responsible and environmentally conscious.
“Using decades of public service experience, combined with professional experience as a CPA and corporate leader, my skills will help guide the next mayor and city council towards a solution that protects public safety and preserve city services, and protects our first responders,” he said.
Saeid Mashgari Alawathi
1. Alawathi said Dearborn is facing many challenges, and he believes that he is qualified and experienced to tackle many of those challenges.
“Dearborn has provided me and my family with many great opportunities, and I want to make sure it continues to offer the same opportunities for generations to come,” he said. “I have over 20 years of experience as an accountant, and I have been a traffic commissioner for eight years, but most importantly, I have been serving Dearborn and its residents for decades, and now I want to serve Dearborn residents as their next councilman.”
2. Alawathi said the most important issue facing Dearborn is public safety.
“Serving on the traffic commission for eight years provided me with the experience necessary to best navigate how to keep our community safe,” he said. “I want to ensure that our police and fire departments have the necessary funding, training and resources to keep our family safe.”
Alawathi said he would work with the police department to increase enforcement, to solve reckless driving and to implement a speed hump program around schools and playgrounds.
Kamal Alsawafy
1. Alsawafy said Dearborn has given him so much, and is the city where he grew up, launched his academic and professional career and, most importantly, is the city he calls home.
“I am running for city council to be your voice, to listen, to put in the work, and to fight for Dearborn,” he said. “This is our moment to build a better Dearborn that works for everyone, and this campaign is for Dearborn residents.”
2. Alsawafy said the city’s small businesses are critical to the economic success of the city, but many businesses opt out of launching in Dearborn due to many of the antiquated and convoluted city processes in place, as well as red-tape.
“I have worked closely with our small business community to promote a thriving culture of entrepreneurial spirit and economic development within our county, and I hope to bring that same skill-set to our city, so we can help new businesses launch and grow, which will in turn bring in additional revenue sources, attract new investments and ultimately promote the economic vitality of Dearborn,” he said.
Erin Byrnes
1. Byrnes said she is running for re-election to city council to ensure that Dearborn works for and welcomes everyone.
“My campaign is focused on connecting with people across our city to determine their needs, hopes and concerns, and to then take action based on their feedback,” she said. “As an educator, I bring a community engagement approach to council, and I work to ensure that Dearborn’s neighborhoods and business districts can thrive now and into the future.”
Byrnes said her goal is to be accessible and on the front line of service for the people of Dearborn.
2. Byrnes said the most pressing issue facing Dearborn is the intersection of public health and public safety.
“We must invest in our infrastructure to keep residents safe and healthy as we work to mitigate the impacts of climate change via clean energy and green infrastructure,” she said. “I will continue to focus on air quality, as every resident has the right to breathe clean air that is free of pollutants, and to live in neighborhoods where nearby businesses take their health and safety into account.”
Byrnes said traffic safety is another key component, and said she is committed to providing resources for education, enforcement and community well-being.
Silvio Davis
1. Davis said he wants to help grow and move the city forward by representing all corners of Dearborn.
“During the past decade, I have devoted my free time to volunteering around the Dearborn community on many different levels,” he said. “I have witnessed first-hand how good hearts can make real change with diverse mindsets, passion, and team work.”
Davis said he has built many strong relationships within the community with residents, community leaders and city government administrators.
“My passion, commitment, and active service to our community has proven I will serve all of Dearborn as one,” he said. “We are one Dearborn, one team and one family.”
2. Davis said one of many of his top priorities would be addressing the infrastructure and the flooding.
“We have neighborhoods that lose power every time it rains, and we have had multiple occurrences this year of homes that flooded, and this issue needs to be addressed before we start losing residents,” he said. “It will not be an overnight fix, but the ideas and experts need to start now.”
Davis said he personally helped carry ruined family memories out of basements and watched people cry, and because of this, answers and solutions are needed.
“This will be a team effort on all levels of government, and our local leaders must focus on solutions with our infrastructure,” he said.
Lola Elzein
1. Elzein said Dearborn is a beautiful place in which to reside, with great schools, parks, and amenities.
“There’s so much to be proud of in our city, but I understand that it faces challenges and concerns that must be addressed, including crumbling infrastructure, failing economic development and is generally lacking city processes,” she said. “I am running because I care about the future of Dearborn.”
Elzein said she is confident that her educational and business background, working with local businesses and helping one’s next-door neighbors, have afforded her the knowledge and experience needed to make tough decisions that will positively impact all Dearborn residents and the city at large.
2. Elzein said that while there are many issues facing the city, one issue that she is very passionate about is economic development.
“Mom and pop shops keep Dearborn moving,” she said. “Our city’s small businesses are integral to our community’s economic resilience, and I understand that it’s important for Dearborn dollars to stay in Dearborn businesses, so I will work to eliminate the unnecessary red tape that prevents many small businesses from officially launching.”
Elzein said she will work to demystify the permitting process, and will establish relationships with public and private partners to promote business development in Dearborn.
“On city council, I will work to attract more investors and developers for Dearborn’s long-vacant properties,” she said. “This will help diversify Dearborn’s businesses and generate more tax revenue.”
Gary Enos
1. Enos said he is running for Dearborn City Council because he has a vested interest in the well-being of his hometown.
“The city has been good to me and my family, and I want to give back,” he said. “It is where I have lived for more than 45 years, and I attended Dearborn Public Schools.”
Enos said he was taught the importance of a hard day’s work by his mother, Marianna, a nurse for almost 50 years, currently at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn.
“Being the son of a police officer has helped me to understand the importance of community safety and those who protect us,” he said.
Enos has been the business owner of Falls Sports Lounge in Dearborn for more than 26 years.
2. Enos said his commitment to his fellow residents is to listen, respond to and address their concerns.
“I will work to preserve the city services that make Dearborn great, and to prioritize the safety of all of our residents and communities,” he said.
Enos said he will address the need for an update to the city’s infrastructure and technology, as well as the need to support the police in their strict traffic enforcement, to help put an end to the reckless driving that endangers pedestrians and motorists in the neighborhoods and on city streets.
Khodr Farhat
1. Farhat said he is running for the Dearborn City Council because he firmly believes that he will bring a new perspective and fresh blood to the table.
“I am a voice of reason who is able to bring everybody around the table, and who is able to execute great results,” he said. “I am not shy to stand up for our city, as I do not have any personal or special interest, and I promise to fight for each and every single resident and to ensure that every voice is heard and respected.”
2. Farhat said that while Dearborn is a unique and diverse city that residents should proudly celebrate and embrace, there is always some room for improvement.
“I believe that one priority should be lowering property taxes,” he said. “We pay amongst the highest taxes in the region, and if elected, I pledge to tap into our county, state and federal partners, by seeking different funding methods, instead of going through the easy way by tapping into our taxpayers’ pockets.”
Mustapha Hammoud
1. Hammoud said he was born and raised in Dearborn, and graduated from its public schools and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
“I feel I owe this city for providing me with a supportive community, and the opportunity to have a good career at Ford Motor Company as an engineer,” he said. “I want to give back by running for office and serving its residents.”
Hammoud said the city is at a critical juncture as it recovers from multiple crises and welcomes a new mayoral administration.
“I want to lend my professional experience and expertise to the city council to tackle our high taxes, repeated flooding, and increasingly dangerous roads,” he said.
2. Hammoud said the city’s foremost issue is its inadequate infrastructure.
“I plan to have our budget re-evaluated to find savings, while also allocating the needed resources to invest in the future of our city,” he said. “We can find opportunities to reduce tax burdens through state and federal grants, which we will need to fix our infrastructure.”
Hammoud said intelligent city planning, zoning and regulations can make the city a better place to do business and live, while increasing the tax base.
“Effective management is critical, and I hope the residents will entrust me to be their advocate,” he said.
Leslie Herrick
1. Herrick said she is eager to continue the work she began four years ago on the Dearborn City Council by listening, responding to residents, improving transparency and delivering first-class city services.
“I have a legacy of making fact-based decisions and finding solutions that work for long-term economic growth and enhanced quality of life for everyone in Dearborn,” she said.
Herrick said she has spent years working with organizations, including the Dearborn Education Foundation, the Community Fund, the League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club.
“My service to my home town is personal, as a graduate of Dearborn Public Schools and as a parent raising my son in Dearborn,” she said.
2. Herrick said the most pressing issue facing Dearborn is how its future is built for a united community, where all residents enjoy quality of life.
“I will work on council, as I have for the past four years, to listen and respond to residents’ needs, deliver first-class services equitably across the city and maintain Dearborn’s fantastic public safety,” she said. “I will protect the environment and promote sustainability, address increased watershed and sewer issues, build thriving business corridors, improve transparency, hold the line on taxes, maintain property values and work with community partners to enhance community health services and art and cultural programs.”
Sam Luqman
1. Luqman said she is running for city council to bring much needed accountability to the body and to give the residents a voice.
“I am tired of the same old rubber-stamping of the administration, the lack of checks and balances, and the laissez-faire method of governance that have led our city to reduce services to its residents, increase taxes, and continue on a downward spiral, with no accountability for any mistakes made,” she said. “I am running because I am tired of potholes, pollution, failed CSO projects, wasteful spending, overpaying salaries, lack of ordinance enforcement, the closing of libraries and pools and the extension of millage after millage.”
2. Luqman said the most important issue facing the city is sewer infrastructure.
“When you look at all the failed projects the city has invested in since 1998, you can see that it’s what has contributed to our high taxes,” she said. “I will ensure the city is vetting our contractors before breaking ground the next time around.”
Luqman said the city needs to invest in green infrastructure immediately, which is why she is continuing her work to leverage corporate grants and nonprofits to bring hundreds of trees and rain gardens to the city.
“I am proposing we pass ordinances to preserve greenspace, and have permeable surfaces replace cement pavements,” she said.
Khalil Othman
1. Othman said he is running a grassroots campaign to serve Dearborn residents and not any special interests or the political establishment.
“I am a college graduate with a master’s degree, and I am a technology leader, entrepreneur, community servant, coach, homeowner and proud husband and father,” he said. “Our city council has failed us time and time again, whether it’s the repeated flooding that has devastated our neighborhoods, the cover-up of the mayor’s inability to do the job for almost two years, a crumbling infrastructure, high property taxes, high water bills and wasteful spending. We deserve a city government that is competent and accountable.”
2. Othman said the most important issue facing the city is the crumbling infrastructure.
“There is a complete lack of governance and transparency,” he said. “The city council failed to respond to the flooding disaster back in 2014, and did nothing to prepare for the June 26 flooding disaster.”
Othman said he worked as a disaster recovery manager for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
“I know exactly how to build a solid disaster response plan,” he said. “As a city councilman, I will establish an independent commission to determine the root cause of the flooding and determine what went wrong.”
Ken Paris
1. Paris said he grew up in Dearborn and served for 39 years as an officer with command experience with both the Dearborn Police Department and University of Michigan-Dearborn public safety.
“I served as chair of the Dearborn traffic commission, and have experience working in municipal and university settings,” he said. “We need infrastructure and technology upgrades and to eliminate impediments to residential and business development.”
Paris said the city faces huge traffic safety and crime challenges along with forces wanting to defund, reimagine or reallocate police services.
“If elected, my experience and dedication to Dearborn, along with attending hundreds of city council-related meetings, would be an asset to serving on the city council,” he said.
2. Paris said that while flooding remains a city and regional priority, traffic safety continues to be a daily, on-going public safety problem that the city has failed to adequately address in the long-term.
“When I served as chair of the traffic commission several years ago, we provided information to the city about effective traffic safety programs nearby, and “traffic calming,” both of which were lacking in Dearborn,” he said. “A long-term traffic safety program is needed to address the increase in aggressive and reckless driving, which now spills into our residential neighborhoods, and I am the candidate that has the experience and the political will to address the problem.”
Michael Sareini
1. Sareini said he is running for re-election to the Dearborn City Council to put forward his years of experience in city government and his legal expertise to help enhance the quality of life for residents across the city.
“Our city is facing unique challenges, which requires leadership that is willing to aggressively seek out the solutions we need,” he said. “I am committed to tackling the issues that matter most to our residents.”
Sareini said Dearborn is a place his family has called home for generations.
“I’m running so families like mine can continue to call Dearborn home for years to come,” he said.
2. Sareini said that when he was knocking on doors throughout the city, he’s heard from residents first-hand about the issues that have impacted them the most.
“Our city’s infrastructure is a problem, and as our city continues to grow, so too does the need for updates,” he said. “Investing in retention basins, ensuring green space for water absorption, and utilizing the latest technologies available when rebuilding our roads are critical to solving this problem.”
Sareini said that when homes flooded three years ago, he was the first to call on the city to take the issue seriously and demand an independent investigation.
“Now, with an investigation finally underway, I’m committed to delivering solutions for residents,” he said.