Councilmember announces his resignation over CM firing

Mayor Amer Ghalib (left) and Mayor Pro Tem Khalil Refai discuss a matter at a recent city council meeting. Refai has resigned as Mayor Pro Tem, and he is also stepping down as a member of council.

By Charles Sercombe
In a surprise move, City Councilmember Khalil Refai said he is resigning as the second-in-command to the mayor.
On Facebook, Refai– who is finishing his first term, and did not seek re-election this year — announced he is stepping down as Mayor Pro Tem, which is the councilmember who chairs council meetings when the mayor is absent, and who would be the replacement in case a mayor leaves office.
In his post, Refai criticized fellow councilmembers for firing City Manager Max Garbarino. Refai abstained in that vote.
“I was elected by the citizens of Hamtramck; they put their confidence in me to make the right decisions within council, decisions that protected our city and its residents, not ones that would put it at financial risk. And I take this responsibility seriously,” Refai said, although his post was originally in Arabic and translated into English.
He continued:

“I participated in the vote to terminate the mayor’s contract and chose not to vote,” he said, apparently meaning the city manager’s contract.
“That was my right, opinion and decision, not based on personal or emotional reasons, but based on legal and financial foundations presented to the council at the time.
“I know my decision did not please some people, but in the coming months it will be clear to everyone why I chose. To clarify, I did not originally endorse his appointment as full-time city manager to begin with.
“Sadly, some of my colleagues have ignored clear warnings from the city attorney that moving forward too quickly could present the city to significant financial risk. Someone even stated: ‘I don’t care if the city goes bankrupt.’ And this statement does not express true leadership and does not serve the good of society.”
Refai did not identify which councilmember made the comment about the city going bankrupt.

Refai also had harsh words for his fellow Yemeni-Americans in the community.
“Unfortunately, there are some members of the Yemeni community who find pleasure in provoking division and spreading negativity and lies. Instead of speaking frankly from their real accounts, they hide behind fake accounts to spread misleading information. The problem is that these people themselves are always blaming others, when the truth is that they are the most to blame,” Refai said.
Refai said that he will be resigning from council before his term ends.
“I will be resigning from council membership publicly over the next few weeks. Responsibility is a task, not an honor.”
The Review reached out to Refai for a further explanation on his reasons for resigning, but he did not respond.
As usual, however, social media was quick to respond.
Diane Elizabeth Frkan, who was a candidate for city council, was succinct.
“Well this is interesting. Not the council members we’re hoping would leave,” she said.
Former Mayor Karen Majewski took issue with Refai posting his announcement in the Arabic language.
“He is a city councilman. It’s fine that he’s posting in Arabic. But he should also post in English, because he is supposed to represent all Hamtramckans,” Majewski said.
And she took issue with him abstaining during the vote to fire City Manager Garbarino
“What’s more, there is no clear explanation of why he abstained from the vote to fire the city manager. He was elected to take positions, no matter how uncomfortable. No council member should be allowed to abstain from voting — abdicating the one job they’re there to do — except for a conflict of interest. That was a cowardly act,” she said.
“Is he resigning because he disagrees with his colleagues’ decision? Then he had an obligation to use his voice and vote against it. So he’s stepping down as mayor pro tem, and eventually resigning from council. If he intends to resign, why the delay? Till after the election?
“This isn’t a social club — it’s city government and principled, fearless leadership requires answers to these questions for all Hamtramck residents.”
Posted Sept. 5, 2025