City Hall Insider … 1/6/26

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Jan. 6, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
This was the yearly organizational meeting, held at the beginning of the year to approve the meeting schedule for the next 12 months, and to appoint a councilmember as mayor pro tem.

Up first was public comment.
Former mayor Amer Ghalib spoke, and he congratulated the newly elected mayor and councilmembers.
He also said that “It was an honor to serve as the mayor of the City of Hamtramck. It was a difficult journey. It wasn’t easy to be the first, you know, as the media keeps saying, the first Muslim mayor for the city.
“It was not easy. Identity politics was always brought to every decision we take, and I’m sure you will face some of the difficulties as well. As elected officials, you will never be able to please everybody. That’s hard. So do your best, be who you are, and the way to success is do the right thing to prioritize the interest of the people, and to be who you are and stick to your values.
“I think that’s the road to success as an elected official. There would be people who wish you failure, and it doesn’t make them look successful even if their wishes come true, but that’s how they are. They will try to undermine your confidence as an elected official. … You will be under attack by the media for no reason. That’s OK. Don’t be distracted. Focus on your goals. Do the right thing.
“Put the interest of the people first and you will succeed. I think we have come a long way from 2021.”
Ghalib added that, when he came to office, the city had a budget deficit, but it was then turned around into a surplus – thanks, in large part, to an increase in income tax collection.

Ibrahim Aljahim said the mayor and council “have to work together – especially the next few years. It’s going to be hard for everyone, as you guys can see what’s going on in the world and the state.”
Aljahim also complained about a sinkhole that erupted on Conant and Jacob a few months ago. The sinkhole has not yet been repaired. He said it has prevented anyone from going down Jacob.
“Yes, it’s a county road, but (did) you guys contact… Wayne County?” Aljahim said. “Are you guys going to do something about it?”

Bill Meyer talked about the motives of some who seek elective office in Hamtramck.
“I hope these people who run for office didn’t do it for self-interest or status or for pay, but to serve the people of Hamtramck,” he said.
Meyer continued on qualifications to hold office. “First of all, they have to know how to run a meeting,” he said. “You have to know the rules of Robert’s Rules (of Order). You have to know council rules. You have to know the city charter. … Secondly, you have to be able to communicate well in English to people who don’t know any other language. …”
He accused the council of having already “broken many” of the rules in Robert’s Rules of Order.
Meyer said that those chairing council meetings must not “dislike the audience, or bang the gavel or anything like that. You have to be a leader – someone who wants to bring people together.”

Shaker Sadeak urged the council to appoint Councilmember Mohammed Hassan as mayor pro tem.
“He would be an excellent choice for this position,” he said.

Madelyn Porter invited the mayor and council to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at the Hamtramck High School Community Center.
She also said she “senses” political strife among the council.
“We don’t need to see that,” she said. “I want to see Hamtramck grow into a world-class city.”

A lengthy discussion then followed over who would be voted mayor pro tem. Councilmember Hassan was initially voted into the position, but then other councilmembers were offered a chance to be appointed despite Hassan already being voted into the position.
That led to heated discussions and confusion over who was being considered for the position, and who was actually the mayor pro tem.
Hassan then threatened a lawsuit if someone else was appointed to the position.
Another round of votes was held for Hassan, who eventually did become mayor pro tem.
Moving on, Mayor Adam Alharbi said that, as the city’s new mayor, “I look forward to moving our city forward, and to addressing the concerns of our residents — making sure that the residents’ concerns are my number one priority.”
Alharbi said the city has “been in the news too long for negative things. It’s time to move on to a positive image for the City of Hamtramck and improve the lives of its residents.”
Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury echoed that sentiment, saying: “We can make this city like Birmingham. We can make this city better than you can imagine.”
Councilmember Abu Musa said he’s in office to “serve the community with the dignity and respect, and I’m really humble and honored to work with the man of the community (sic).”
Musa also credited former mayor Ghalib for raising Hamtramck’s national profile.
“Because of you, Hamtramck is known by the White House,” he said. “Because of you, Hamtramck is known by the president and all the higher officials. You are really, really our hero.”

Councilmember Hassan then motioned to suspend the council’s rules and add another item to the agenda for consideration. He proposed giving Carpenter, from Jos. Campau to Conant, the honorific street name of a former prime minister of Bangladesh.
Councilmember Musa accused Hassan of proposing this “for political gain and personal interest.”
Mayor Alharbi reminded the council the meeting was called solely for organizational purposes, and that councilmembers can’t keep adding items onto the agenda.
Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri said that, if council keeps adopting honorific street names for various individuals, the city will run out of streets to receive any more honorific names.
He said honorific street names should be reserved only for people “who live inside the city.”
Councilmember Yousef Saed said there are people “who sacrificed all over the world.” He said the council should focus on Hamtramck.
The council eventually agreed to give that portion of Carpenter the honorific name of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, who was the first female to hold that position.
Councilmember Hassan than proposed adding another item to the agenda, this time to give Miller St. the honorific name of a local community activist.
After a discussion, Hassan agreed to withdraw his motion.

During the second round of public comment, former mayor Ghalib again spoke, saying: “It was an honor to work with you for the past four years. Just like everybody else, we worked as a good team. We never had any problems with anyone, never had any fights, like in the past.
“They used to punch each other here. I used to see council meetings and I used to some people using the ‘F’ word here. That didn’t happen during our leadership. We disagreed about so many things but we never took it personally. We prioritized the interest of the people.”
Ghalib continued: “I will never… ask the state to defund Hamtramck so you can fail, like the former mayor did. I’m sorry to mention that but was a big thing for me. I mean, to wish failure for your opponent is not going to make you look successful.”
Ghalib said he is still waiting to hear back from President Trump’s administration about a job.
“It looks like I will take a position – a big position,” he said. “But I will be back and forth so that’s a good thing, to stay in touch with the community, to support the community in any capacity.”
Madelyn Porter spoke again, saying “I don’t want to see Hamtramck City Council run as a dictatorship. … That’s not what this country is all about.”
Porter said that, instead of designating honorific street names, the council needs to “concentrate on other issues – infrastructure, schools, books and arts and culture.”
Bill Meyer also spoke again, saying that “This meeting was chaos. This was an embarrassment to the rest of the country. I’m afraid the way you held yourselves during that mayor pro tem debate was horrible. It showed easily that none of you know Robert’s Rules.”
Meyer continued: “You have to stop these surprise items on agendas, resolutions on a council meeting. This all has to be public — so the public knows ahead of time what you’re going to put on a meetings; and these last-minute resolutions, it looks self-serving.”
What is our City Council up to these days? We have the highlights of the latest council meeting.
Posted Jan. 23, 2026