Mayor Majewski served the community well

Last Friday, Hamtramck’s Polish community held an appreciation party for outgoing Mayor Karen Majewski.
Majewski is completing her 16th year as mayor, which was preceded by serving on city council for two years. She lost her bid for re-election in November, and will be replaced by the first Yemeni-American, Amer Ghalib, to hold the position.
Majewski is the last Polish-American to serve as mayor in the city’s 100-year history of being incorporated as a city. That is quite a run.
Ghalib’s election is obviously a huge milestone for Hamtramck’s Yemeni community, who now appear to be the city’s leading political force.
You could say the torch is being passed on. We congratulate Mr. Ghalib, and wish him success.
Mayor Majewski has plenty to be proud of during her tenure. Yes, Hamtramck went through some rocky times, but the city has experienced steady improvements in road repairs, parks, the historic baseball stadium and even the water and sewer system.
The role of mayor is more ceremonial than anything else, since Hamtramck is a city manager form of government.
But from a public relations perspective, Majewski has excelled in representing Hamtramck. She has been articulate, and sensitive to the needs of community members.
Majewski has also received a fair amount of flak by some constant critics, but that goes with the territory of holding public office.
Majewski’s steady leadership will be missed, but the time has come for change. Change is nothing new to Hamtramck, where we have people constantly coming and going.
We look forward to this new era, and also look back appreciatively at what Majewski did for the city.
Posted Dec. 10, 2021