Latest news with #Darany
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clerk: For first time in city's history, Dearborn won't have a primary election
For the first time in its 96-year history, the city of Dearborn will not have an August primary election for citywide races, because there are not enough candidates running, the clerk said. There will only be a November general election for voters to chose their mayor, clerk and seven-member city council, City Clerk George Darany announced in an April 29 statement. There are two candidates for mayor, two candidates for city clerk and 13 council candidates for seven council seats who are qualified to be on the ballot, according to Darany. The deadline to file to run was April 22 and the deadline to withdraw was April 25. Under Michigan election law, a nonpartisan primary election must have more than twice as many candidates as the seats they are running for. That means a city needs more than two candidates running for mayor and clerk, and more than 14 candidates running for a seven-member city council. "For a primary election to have been required, there would have needed to be more than two candidates for mayor, two for clerk and 14 for city council," the statement from Darany said. "This is certainly a surprise," Darany said. "Over the years, there have always been plenty of residents who would seek City office and require a primary ballot in each election." Darany did not provide a list of the candidates on the ballot. According to Wayne County campaign records, the race for mayor will probably be between Dearborn Mayor Abudllah Hammoud, a Democrat seeking his second four-year term, and challenger Nagi Almudhegi, a 50-year-old IT manager who backed President Donald Trump. Two other potential mayoral candidates, Hassan Aoun, a Republican activist, and Gus Tarraf were disqualified. Darany said earlier that Aoun's three felony convictions disqualifies him for elected office, according to city charter rules. Wayne County Chief Judge Patricia Fresard on April 11 also ruled against Aoun, denying his motion for injunctive relief to get on the ballot. The race for clerk will probably be between Darany and Sami Elhady. Elhady told the Free Press he qualified to be on the ballot. "Our candidacy really is under one banner, and that's one Dearborn, to provide the most optimized services possible for city residents and city guests at the clerk's office," Elhady said. "The city of Dearborn is just a wonderful city. It's an amazing city. It is so multicultural, multi layered ... It's like a big city, but ... has small town characteristics as well. It's just a wonderful place to raise a family ... I want to be part of that legacy." One of the incumbent city council members, City Council President Pro Tem Leslie Herrick, was planning to run for reelection, but was disqualified from the ballot by Darany over not paying $800 in outstanding fees from a previous campaign in 2017. Herrick, the only woman on the council, appealed to Wayne County, but appears to have lost her attempts to get reinstated. A letter from Darany to Herrick on April 2 said that Herrick had signed an affidavit saying she has paid all late fees, but she had not. On April 17, Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett sent a letter to Herrick that told her "the time for reconsideration or reassessment has lapsed and I am without authority to retroactively void or reassess a late filing fee that has been acknowledged and paid." Garrett said her office did receive $800 from Herrick on April 2 for the outstanding fees. "The payment of the late filing fee in some form acknowledges that the (Herrick campaign) committee owed the outstanding late filing fees," Garrett wrote to Herrick. Herrick told the Free Press that she is now "evaluating the logistics of a write-in campaign and will announce a decision in the coming weeks." She explained that "in 2017, a clerical error in which we put an incorrect date on a campaign report resulted in a fee being assessed by Wayne County. Despite believing that this was resolved long ago, it was recently brought to my attention that the fee was still outstanding." Herrick said she then immediately paid the fee, but was then told by Wayne County that her "name will not be on the 2025 pre-printed election ballot." More: Detroit mayoral, city candidates submit petitions to run for office in 2025 election Darany explained that some candidates who were initially thinking of running either failed to qualify or withdrew. Darany said "four candidates had filed petitions to run for mayor and 16 for city council, but two were disqualified for each of those offices due to insufficient petitions, charter or campaign finance qualifications. Another candidate for city council withdrew from the ballot after filing petitions." According to city and county records and a city official, the 13 council candidates are: six council incumbents; Devon O'Reilly, a son of former mayor John O'Reilly Jr. who was arrested and charged in 2016 in a drunk driving case that drew attention over allegations of special treatment, which the former mayor denied; Ahmad Othman, a businessman; Shadi Mawari, an administrative assistant; Mark Andrew, a firefighter; Othman Alaansi, a software engineer; Sharon Dulmage, a former Dearborn school board member and former charter commissioner; and Mubarek Hamed, a merchant Marine. Over the past 40 years, there has been a decease in the number of people running for city office in Dearborn, Darany said. "I recall when there would be about 30 candidates in city council primaries in the 1980s," he said. Herrick said the "record low number of candidates" in Dearborn is "disheartening to me because this seems to indicate people are burned out on politics, and don't want to become involved." She said she has "worked to make sure that our local government is a place of hope where ... people can make positive change in our community." In 2009 and 2013, there were more than 20 candidates for city council, Darany said. In 2017, five candidates ran for mayor and in 2021, there were seven running to be mayor. Hammoud won in November 2021 with 54.6% of the vote, defeating Gary Woronchak, a former state House representative and former Wayne County commissioner. Hammoud this year faces a challenge from Almudhegi, who has the support of Republicans and conservatives who have expressed concerns about crime and LGBTQ+ books in schools. Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@ or X @nwarikoo This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dearborn will not have a primary election due to lack of candidates
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dearborn clerk deems GOP activist ineligible to run for mayor due to felonies
An outspoken Republican activist in Dearborn has been declared ineligible by the city to run for mayor as the race to lead the city gets underway. Dearborn City Clerk George Darany told the Free Press Wednesday that Hassan Aoun, 44, can not run for elected office in the city because charter rules prohibit residents with a felony conviction from being on the ballot. Aoun had submitted last year his nominating petitions with signatures, but was told by Darany in December that he was not eligible due to his criminal record with three felony convictions, one in October 2009 and two others in June 2012. "Mr. Aoun received a certified letter on Dec. 30 or 31 stating he was ineligible to run for office in Dearborn because of his felony record," Darany told the Free Press. Aoun filed a lawsuit last month in Wayne County against Darany challenging his removal from the ballot, claiming that state law would allow him to be on the ballot. The suit has been assigned to Wayne County Judge Brian Sullivan with a status conference set for April 7. The Dearborn City Council held a special closed-door meeting on Jan. 21 discussing the lawsuit. Aoun, who supported Trump last year, is running on a platform of "Make Dearborn Great Again," claiming the city is led by corrupt politicians who are too left-wing on social issues and soft on crime. He's challenging Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who told the Free Press Thursday he is running for reelection. Hammoud, 34, elected in November 2021, is seeking a second four-year term to lead the city of 110,000 residents, citing his accomplishments in reducing crime, fighting polluters and reckless drivers, and investing in infrastructure such as building new parks while maintaining harmony amid national attention during the Gaza war and presidential election. Another candidate, Nagi Almudhegi, 50, may announce his run for mayor on Sunday, according to social media posts by his supporters. Almudhegi, who spoke at the protests against some LGBTQ+ books in Dearborn schools, did not return a message Thursday seeking comment. Wayne County court records show that Aoun pled no contest on Oct. 28, 2009 to malicious destruction of personal property $1,000 or more but less than $20,000; pled guilty on June 6, 2012, to the same charge as in 2009 for a separate incident; and on June 27, 2012, to assaulting or obstructing public officer causing injury. "I firmly believe that my removal from the ballot is a direct attempt to silence my campaign and deny the people of Dearborn a fair election," Aoun said in a statement. "The only reason they are doing this is because they are afraid of my growing support and the overwhelming number of people standing with me. This is not just an attack on me — it is an attack on democracy and the rights of the voters." Aoun is frequently seen at public meetings in Dearborn and other municipalities, becoming known in 2022 for being one of the leaders against some LGBTQ+ books in Dearborn Public Schools. Critics say he has a confrontational tone in his behavior; his supporters say he has a right to speak out and his voice is needed. Aoun has been arrested three times in Dearborn over the past couple of years after refusing to leave public areas: in May 2023 outside the Dearborn Public School administrative building during a board meeting; on April 9, 2024, at a Dearborn City Council meeting; and on April 23, 2024, also at a Dearborn City Council meeting. Videos of the incidents show police warning Aoun to leave after he was accused of being disruptive, giving him a chance to leave. He refuses and then is arrested. In the May 2023 incident, Aoun was found guilty by a jury of not obeying a police officer and breaching the peace, but was found not guilty of trespassing. He served 23 days last year in Calhoun County jail. The 2024 cases are still pending and he intends to fight them, he said. In the latest incident, on April 23, Aoun spoke at the podium in a City Council meeting during the public comments section and started playing a recording with audio, a council livestream shows. Dearborn City Council President Michael Sareini told him that was not permitted and asked him to stop, but Aoun kept playing it. Police officers then approached Aoun. "If you refuse to leave, you will be arrested," Police Chief Issa Shahin tells Aoun in the April 23 incident. Aoun does not leave and two officers then arrest him, handcuffing him while he was near the podium. "You're under arrest for failing to listen to the council president," Shahin told him. Aoun claims the city is harassing him for exercising his First Amendment rights. More: Hamtramck mayor Amer Ghalib announces reelection campaign, says Trump supports him On his social media accounts, Aoun often attacks community leaders, some of whom have complained to police. In a few cases, Dearborn police investigated his Facebook and Instagram accounts for messages, but closed out the probes after failing to get approval for warrants from a district judge, police reports and court records show. In one case, a 19th district judge in Dearborn approved in Feb. 2022 a search warrant for Aoun's Facebook account; it's unclear what became of that case. Aoun said that state law supersedes Dearborn's charter. In 2010, voters approved a ballot proposal that prohibits candidates with certain felony records from holding elected positions. The felony conviction has to be "related to the person's official capacity while holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state or federal government." Aoun says that means he would be eligible. In his letter to Aoun, Darany cites the part of the charter that makes him ineligible to run for office in Dearborn. "No person shall become a candidate or hold elective office under this charter unless that person is a resident for one year, has never been convicted of a felony and is a registered voter of the City," the charter reads. "Pursuant to Section 6.2 of the Charter you are, therefore, ineligible to be certified as a candidate for Mayor," Darany wrote. Earlier this month, Darany announced that his office is offering assistance for residents who want to run for office. Also on the ballot are all of the seven council seats and clerk. "My office has prepared a package of information to guide candidates through the process of getting on the ballot," Darany said in a Feb. 5 statement. "The information may be obtained at the Clerk's Office in the Dearborn Administrative Center, 16901 Michigan Ave." To get on the ballot, candidates must submit at least 100 valid signatures of registered Dearborn voters, but not more than 200 signatures, Darany said. Candidates have until 4 p.m., April 22, to submit petitions to be on the ballot. In addition to having no felony convictions, candidates must have resided in Dearborn for at least one year and be registered to vote in the city, as required by the charter. Candidates also need to submit a notarized Affidavit of Identity and sign an affidavit saying they meet the city charter's requirements to hold office. Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Republican activist deemed ineligible to run for Dearborn mayor
