Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud raises 446,000 in reelection bid

• Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has raised almost $446,000 this election cycle.
• Mayoral candidate Nagi Almudhegi of Dearborn has raised $103,330, about half of which is his personal cash.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has raised almost $446,000 this election cycle, considerably greater than his opponent Nagi Almudhegi. He obtained help from a variety of donors, in keeping with marketing campaign stories filed on Friday, October 24.

Hammoud obtained $445,874 in contributions throughout his marketing campaign by way of Oct. 19 for an additional four-year time period to guide Dearborn, together with $261,723 throughout the latest interval, in keeping with his candidate committee report filed with Wayne County. He has spent $364,516 this election cycle. His challenger, Almudhegi, an IT engineer, raised $103,330 this election cycle, about half of which, $50,526, was his personal cash. Almudhegi, who’s operating in his first political race, has spent $77,449, with a present steadiness of $25,881.

“Our fundraising demonstrates the robust help we’ve got all through Dearborn,” Hammoud mentioned in a press release to the Free Press. “It is a people-powered marketing campaign, powered by residents who consider in our shared imaginative and prescient for town’s future. We’re proud to be the one marketing campaign supported by the UAW (United Auto Staff), the Dearborn Police and Fireplace Departments, our lecturers and on a regular basis native residents who make this metropolis what it’s.”

In whole, greater than $900,000 has been raised by candidates operating for mayor and council in Dearborn, a major quantity that exhibits robust curiosity in native elections within the metropolis of 110,000 residents. Hammoud’s committee at present has a steadiness of $144,921 and appeared to boost essentially the most cash this 12 months amongst mayoral candidates in Wayne County, outdoors Detroit. In distinction, Taylor Mayor Tim Wooley, who was operating for re-election, raised simply $32,564.

Hammoud had raised an analogous quantity 4 years in the past this month when he first ran for mayor. He obtained almost $500,000 by way of October 17, 2021 throughout his first run for mayor.

Almudhegi appeared to obtain smaller donations in comparison with Hammoud, who was beforehand a state consultant.

“We now have small donations, $100 right here, $50,” Almudhegi mentioned. “I’ve a donation from a 90-year-old lady of $25 and consider it or not, this donation touches my coronary heart essentially the most, much more than the $1,000 contributions. And since it is in regards to the message. She believes within the message, and she or he believes in returning to sanity and bringing again authorities of the individuals, for the individuals, by the individuals.”

A few of Almudhegi’s greatest contributors have been Khalil Othman, a 2021 council candidate who gave $2,011, and Amarah Almudhegi, a truck driver who gave $1,926.

A few of Hammoud’s greatest help got here from unions and labor leaders: the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters (MRCC) gave the mayor $3,500; the political motion fund of Henry Ford Neighborhood Faculty Federation of Academics AFT Native 1650 gave Hammoud $2,000; a UAW lawyer additionally donated.

Hammoud additionally obtained donations from numerous attorneys, medical doctors, pharmacists and small enterprise homeowners, a number of of whom donated $2,450 every. Decide Mariam Bazzi of the Michigan Court docket of Attraction gave $1,000 and Decide Sam Salemy of the nineteenth District (in Dearborn) gave $300.

Hammoud, Dearborn’s first Arab American mayor, obtained contributions from longtime Michigan Arab American and Muslim leaders, together with: $1,750 from Muzammil Ahmed, a Canton doctor who’s secretary of the Michigan Muslim Neighborhood Council and has served on the boards of CAIR Michigan and Emgage Michigan; $1,500 from Sufian Nabhan, government director of the Islamic Heart of Detroit; $250 from Warren David, president of Arab America and former president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; $500 from Osama Siblani, writer of Arab American Information, a Dearborn-based newspaper; $150 from Kassem Allie, of the Islamic Heart of America, a Dearborn mosque, and $300 from Eide Alawan, a Muslim and interfaith chief who’s an assistant chaplain on the Wayne County Jail.

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Of these operating for council, Council President Michael Sareini raised by far essentially the most cash, receiving almost $200,000 this election cycle. Sareini, who ran for an additional four-year time period on the council, obtained $197,445 in contributions and spent $68,463. Councilor Mustapha Hammoud, who ran for re-election, raised the second highest quantity amongst council candidates, receiving $57,547 in contributions, adopted by Councilor Kamal Alsawafy, who obtained $51,822 in contributions. Some council candidates didn’t submit marketing campaign stories earlier than Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline: Sharon Dulmage, Othman Alaansi, Shadi Mawari, Devon O’Reilly and Ahmad Othman.

In different cities with contested mayoral races, some candidates didn’t file a report earlier than Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline, together with Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun, who additionally didn’t file a report after the August main, and the 2 candidates operating for mayor of Grosse Pointe, Christopher Boettcher and Sheila Tomkowiak.

Within the race for mayor of Hamtramck, Adam Alharbi raised $20,671 and Councilman Muhith Mahmood raised $10,945.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo or Facebook @nwarikoo