As election day nears, candidates address a number of issues

A candidate forum, sponsored by the Yemeni American Political Action Committee (YAPAC), was held last Saturday.

By Charles Sercombe
The main topics of concern for Hamtramck mayoral and city council candidates boil down to: speeders, taxes, grants and city finances.
In other words, nothing terribly new when it comes to Hamtramck politics – except for the issue of speeding drivers, which has become more and more of a problem in the city.
The answer to that issue, it was agreed on by all the candidates, was installing more speed humps, and educating young drivers on the perils of speeding.
The candidates squared off in a three-hour candidate forum, sponsored by the Yemeni American Political Action Committee and held at Golden Gate Hall on Holbrook.
The forum was broken up into two parts, with council candidates going first in a round of questions, followed by the mayoral candidates.
About 70 people attended.
The following candidates are seeking the three open seats on council: Amanda Jaczkowski, Adam Albarmaki, Cody Lown, Lynn Blasely, Khalil Refai, former Councilmember Abu Musa, Armani Asad, and Muhith Mahmood.
In the Aug. 3 Primary Election, the top six vote-getters will move on to the November election, where the eventual top three vote-getters will take a seat on council.
In the mayoral race, Mayor Karen Majewski is facing the following challengers: Current Councilmember Saad Almasmari, Asm Kamal Rahman and Amer Ghalib.
The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 3 Primary will move forward to the November Election.
Here are some of the highlights of the council forum.
Lynn Blasely said she is running for office as an extension of her public service. She serves on the city’s Arts and Culture Commission. She said speeding drivers are “a hot-button issue right now.”
Cody Lown has three areas he would focus on: small business investment, improving public school facilities, and working to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion.
Muhith Mahmood said public safety is his main concern. “If people feel safe, they’ll come to visit.”
Adam Albarmaki said the police department needs more diversity, something that a number of people have said over the years. (The police department’s usual response? Go to the police academy, graduate, and please apply.)
Amanda Jaczkowski said the police department does a good job in responding to calls in a timely manner, but the department needs to build trust with the community.
If Khalil Refai had his way, he’d hire more officers. Just how the cash-strapped city can afford that wasn’t addressed.
Abu Musa agreed that speeding is a problem, and that he’s also for hiring more officers.
Armani Asad agreed that “safety and security is very important for the community.”
On getting more residents involved in city issues, Blasely said the council’s zoom meetings have attracted people to participate and comment. “I’d like to see more of that.”
Lown said getting the public involved “starts with trust.”
Musa urged residents to “come to council meetings.” The meetings are actually not held in-person yet, and likely won’t be until next year.
Mahmood said it begins with “building bridges among ourselves.”
A question was posed on how the city can work with school officials; although, technically, the city and school district are two separate government entities.
Albarmaki wants more trade schools as an option for youngsters.
Jaczkowski said the school district “is on a very positive trajectory.” But, she thinks the district could be more transparent.
Blasely said she currently works with the College for Creative Studies, and has already helped create outreach programs for students.
Lown said the district needs more promotion.
Musa would concentrate on improving students’ English proficiency.
Mahmood said he would seek more state funding for schools, and the city. “My goal is to bring more money to the city.”
In the mayoral portion of the forum, the candidates were asked about public safety.
Asm Rahman noted that 70 percent of the city’s budget is spent on police and fire service. He said that the city needs to get more grants.
Saad Almasmari said that the city is fortunate there are no issues with drugs and crime here. As for handling speeders, he said that involves mostly young men, and that the key to getting this issue under control is talking with their parents.
Amer Ghalib agreed that education is key, plus the installation of more speed humps.
Karen Majewski took issue with Almasmari’s claim that crime is not much of an issue. She said there have been two shooting deaths lately, and a spate of speeding drivers endangering the community. She said that getting speeding under control comes down to how officers are deployed. “We know where folks are speeding.”
On the city’s ongoing budget issues, Majewski said a key to increasing the city’s tax base is attracting more businesses. She said the city has also been in contact with state officials, to increase Hamtramck’s portion of state revenue funding. “You cannot cut yourself out of economic problems. You can only grow yourself out of them.”
Majewski also noted that there is a large cash economy happening in the city, and that revenue is not reported, which means less money is collected through taxes.
Almasmari said the city needs to “find more taxpayers,” and “decreasing unnecessary expenditures.”
Ghalib said financial control of the city is largely in the hands of the city manager. He is also against increasing taxes “unless we’ve exhausted all options.”
Rahman said he knows how to raise $1 million: He would do that by raising the corporate tax rate. He also said that the city needs to simplify its tax forms.
You can see the entire forum on various Hamtramck Facebook pages.
You might want to pack a lunch, though, because it is long.
Posted July 18, 2021