April 29th, 20220DEARBORN — An effort to increase language access in Dearborn by its City Council may have taken a positive step forward last week.
In a special meeting, the Council passed a supplemental to its earlier resolution to translate election materials, including ballots, for its minority residents. On the insistence of Wayne County Clerk...
February 24th, 20220DEARBORN HEIGHTS — After years of trying, the Dearborn Heights City Council is revisiting the possibility of establishing a food truck ordinance and will host a study session to discuss it.
Dearborn Heights City Council Chairman Dave Abdallah said that the city has been trying to agree on an ordinance for a very long...
January 20th, 20220DETROIT — Former Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery.
Spivey had resigned in September after pleading guilty and admitting to accepting more than $35,000 in bribes in exchange for towing contracts.
The court said that it will delay when he has to report...
January 20th, 20220DEARBORN — On Jan. 15, Abdullah H. Hammoud took the oath of office with his wife by his side and was sworn in with a copy of his family’s Quran.
The ceremony also included the swearing in of all seven City Council members, Clerk George Darany and all nine members of the Charter Revision Commission.
After the ceremony, Hammoud...
November 5th, 20210WESTLAND — Voters in Westland had the difficult decision of choosing a mayor and four City Council members in the general election.
Mayor Bill Wild, who has served as mayor since 2007, ran for reelection against Councilwoman Tasha Green.
With 12,122 votes cast, Wild received 8,704 or 71.8 percent, giving him his fourth term as...
November 5th, 20210DEARBORN — As a historic election comes to an end, the city will be welcoming three new faces to the City Council and nine Charter Commissioners.
City Council
All seven City Council seats were up for grabs, with four incumbents — Mike Sareini, Erin Byrnes, Leslie Herrick and Robert Abraham — running for re-election and...
October 27th, 20210DEARBORN — The November Committee of the Whole meetings and regular City Council meeting are being rescheduled to accommodate Election Day activities.
The Committee of the Whole will now be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9 and the regular City Council meeting will be Tuesday Nov. 16.
Both meetings will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be held...
October 22nd, 20210DEARBORN — Voters in Dearborn will once again have a difficult decision to make in the upcoming general election.
Between selecting a new mayor for the first time in 14 years, all seven City Council members and nine members of a Charter Revision Commission, residents also have a proposal to decide on. All information on candidates...
September 29th, 20211DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With only three members of the City Council attending the Council meeting, there was no quorum and the meeting was forced to be adjourned.
The Council meeting lasted only 12 and a half minutes as only Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell, Councilman Mo Baydoun and Councilman Bob Constan were in...
August 21st, 20211DEARBORN HEIGHTS — After a tension-filled City Council meeting on Aug. 10, residents have started to respond to comments made and meeting practices.
During the City Council meeting and in a statement provided to The Arab American News, Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell had referenced a resident named “Sam” who she...
July 25th, 20210DEARBORN — Residents have a lot of decisions to make in the August 3 primary by narrowing down a large selection of mayoral and City Council candidates.
Mayor
With the retirement of Mayor Jack O’Reilly, seven people submitted their names for the position, two of whom will advance to the general election in November.
City...
July 25th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With partial and full terms on the ballot for the 2021 elections, only the mayor’s position is up for election in the August 3 primary.
The partial terms are for mayor, ending on Dec. 31, city clerk, ending on Dec. 31, and a City Council seat, ending on Dec. 31, 2023.
Mayor
The partial term for mayor is to...
July 24th, 20210WESTLAND — Voters will choose from four candidates for mayor and 12 for City Council in the Aug. 3 primary.
In Westland, four Council members are elected at each regular odd year city election. The three candidates who receive the highest number of votes are elected to four-year terms and the candidate receiving the fourth highest...
June 6th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mo Baydoun, who was appointed to the Dearborn Heights City Council earlier this year, is running to retain his seat.
Baydoun was appointed to finish out former Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton’s term once she was elected treasurer in November.
In 2017, Baydoun ran for a full-term seat on the City Council and...
May 25th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Coming off of his first term on City Council, Councilman Tom Wencel has decided his job is not done and is running for re-election.
“I decided to run for re-election because during my first term on the City Council we have made such tremendous advancements for the residents of Dearborn Heights, and we’re just...
January 23rd, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Tensions flared during a study session and special meeting held by the Dearborn Heights City Council on Tuesday.
During the regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 12, Councilman Ray Muscat had made a motion to hold a special meeting to appoint the mayor, however, when the agenda packet was sent out, there was no...
December 8th, 20200DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The Dearborn Heights City Council has been operating for nearly a month with only six members and has failed to appoint a seventh.
A special meeting was held on Monday for the Council to interview candidates.
The first of the candidates interviewed was Zouher Abdel-Hak.
Abdel-Hak has been heavily involved...
October 24th, 20200DEARBORN — Accountability For Dearborn (A4D) has turned to the City Council to address racial segregation in Dearborn while also releasing police records for the last decade.
Having submitted a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request almost three months ago, A4D announced that it had finally received the information it had...
September 26th, 20200DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A veto put forward by Mayor Paletko regarding an ordinance brought forward by Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell has been upheld and cannot be overridden.
To be overridden, the Council would have needed to pass the reintroduction of the ordinance with a 5-2 vote. However, it was only given a 4-3 vote...
September 4th, 20201DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A resolution on the agenda for an upcoming Dearborn Heights City Council meeting mentions researching how to remove Daniel Paletko from office as mayor.
The resolution comes after an 18 month back and forth between Paletko and the City Council in regards to issuing an audit on the city’s financial...
August 31st, 20200DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council unanimously passed ordinance No. 20-1680 to provide for several different environmental protections that have also been advocated for by state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn).
“Nearly five years ago, I met an elderly gentleman in the south end of Dearborn,” Hammoud said. “After a few...
August 17th, 20190DEARBORN HEIGHTS - While incumbents on the Dearborn Heights' City Council were happy about the results of the August 6 election, candidate Jamal Bazzi has asked for a recount of the votes, which will take place next week.
"I believe that there was a mistake somewhere along the line," Bazzi told The Arab American News.
"The reason I...
July 20th, 20190DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Dearborn Heights has a new ordinance that limits the number of hookah licenses issued in the city to seven. There are currently seven active licenses in the city. The ordinance also has spacing requirements and restrictions on business hours, requiring lounges to be closed between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Anyone wishing...
June 11th, 20190DEARBORN – Residents who enjoy relaxing or entertaining in the shade of gazebos got some clarity from the city this week about the requirements governing their installation on their property.
The City Council recently approved an amendment to an ordinance that details the definitions of the popular canopy-like structures and...
June 10th, 20191Dearborn Heights – Several residents raised concerns about parking, noise and hostile mosque attendees at the May 28 City Council meeting, following the three-day Ramadan Night of Power festivities.
The residents, who all reside within a few blocks of the Islamic Institute of America (IAA) at Ford Road and Kinloch Street in Dearborn...
December 10th, 20180DEARBORN – A pending renovation of the comfort station at the city's Levagood Park will provide a more user-friendly experience in the city’s most-visited park.
At its Dec. 4 meeting, the Dearborn City Council approved a complete renovation of the bathroom facility within the park, located at Wilson Street and Silvery Lane on the...
October 5th, 20181DEARBORN HEIGHTS – The city’s Building and Engineering director, Mohamed Sobh, has resigned amid accusations by a City Council member that he harassed and extorted residents.
At a September 25 Council meeting, Councilman Bill Bazzi said he heard from at least 20 residents and real estate agents that Sobh’s department approves...
September 22nd, 20180DEARBORN – Inconsistencies in ordinances have been causing confusion among city officials, as residents who have gazebos on their properties complain of excessive ticketing and press administrators struggling to iron out the enforcement language, to find a fix.
Although City Council members attempted to tackle this issue last...
