By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Voters re-elected incumbents Robert Abraham, Erin Byrnes, Leslie Herrick and Michael Sareini to the City Council, while ushering in three newcomers: Kamal Alsawafy, Mustapha Hammoud and Ken Paris.
Sareini, the highest vote-getter, will become council president, with Byrnes becoming council president pro tem.
The unofficial vote totals as of Nov. 3 were: Sareini (13,583), Byrnes (10,602), Herrick (10,421), Alsawfy (10,006), Paris (9,131), Abraham (8,883), and Hammoud (8,314).
The runnerup vote totals were: Gary Enos (8,278), Silvio Davis (8,130), Lola Elzein (7,921), Khodr Farhat (7,607), Sam Luqman (7,402), Saeid Mashgari Alawathi (6,368), and Khalil Othman (5,592).
Sareini said he is honored by the support he has received from residents throughout the city.
“They sent a clear message that leadership based on values, integrity and compassion is what they want to lead the city council this coming term,” he said. “I’m humbled by the historic margin and mandate that the residents of the city have given me. Residents can be confident that I will work hard every day to deliver for them and to find solutions to the issues impacting our city.”
Byrnes also said she is honored to be re-elected to the council.
“Residents can count on me to be responsive when they reach out, and to be focused on quality of life for every person in every neighborhood,” she said. “I’m committed to addressing the challenges we face head-on, while investing in what has always made Dearborn shine, including our recreation amenities and city services.”
Abraham, who has served on the council since 2002, said he is honored to serve for a sixth term.
“I am very excited to work with Mayor-Elect Abdullah Hammoud to make progressive improvements to our community,” he said. “There will be a new mayor and many new faces on the city council in 2022 to provide ideas, solutions and a fresh perspective to our dynamic city.”
With the supplemental millage rejected by the voters, Abraham said the mayor and council will face a tremendous challenge to maintain the city’s public safety and city services while faced with the elimination of 3.5 mills, or about $15 million, which he said is about 20 percent of the general fund property tax revenue, which will need to be cut from the next budget when, in June 2022, the current supplemental property tax expires.
Paris said he is humbled and honored that the voters entrusted him with a city council seat.
“There’s much work that needs to be done, and we need to move our city forward in a positive and constructive way,” he said. “The flooding investigation needs to move forward. I’m concerned that another meeting hasn’t occurred since the initial city council request for proposal study session on July 27.”
Paris said the medical marijuana caregiver ordinance is another priority that cannot be continually pushed off into the future.
“Proactive action by council is needed soon to ensure our residential areas are protected and placement where licensed facilities may be allowed by zoning doesn’t adversely and disproportionately impact southeast Dearborn and other areas,” he said.
Paris said when the city council starts to hold budget study session in a few months, they face the challenge of addressing the $15 million budget shortfall which occurred with the rejection of the supplemental millage renewal.
“The new 2022 fiscal budget will require hard and difficult decisions to come up with realistic, innovative and creative ways to address the budget,” he said.
Mustapha Hammoud said he believes the election shows that the people of Dearborn are ready for the city council to move in a new direction.
“I look forward to serving all of the residents to the fullest of my abilities on the Dearborn City Council,” he said. “My top priority will be an independent investigation of our sewer system, and pushing for a plan to address these needs as quickly as possible to ensure this never happens again. We have a lot of work to do, and I’m ready to get started.”