Guest Editorial … Mayor: ‘A new chapter in my political journey’

The following message to the community was recently posted by Mayor Amer Ghalib on his Facebook page.
By Mayor Amer Ghalib
As I reflect on my schedule for the next few weeks, I found that I may miss the first city council meeting of May due to my involvement in a training course related to my upcoming assignment as US ambassador to Kuwait.
I am honored and proud, to announce today that after nearly three and a half years of serving as Mayor of Hamtramck, I have never missed any City Council meeting, whether it was regular, private or emergency, despite being very busy with my frequent travels, clinic work, family responsibilities, and graduate studies that have not stopped yet. And I practice my professional, political and social work.
Now that I have started connecting with other tasks and preparing for a new chapter in my political journey, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who supported me, stood by me by all means, advised me and the community, who did not move, complained or went after his work and supported me through harm.
I believe that I have done my duty and my job honestly and sincerity, and without any personal interest, since I have undergone community work in this position, and I know that it is semi-voluntary, and that it requires sacrificing time and money, reducing official working hours, bearing great psychological and physical burdens, and postponing all personal and family projects, in order to avoid failure, which would have negatively reflected on the Arab and Muslim community in the U.S. and not just on a personal level.
It was not in the calculation or even in the imagination when I applied for candidacy in 2021, that the days would give me the opportunity to go up to other great positions.
So from the beginning I held to my values and principles and did not compromise on them to please anyone, and I knew that those situations would stand in my way and their consequences would haunt me throughout my life, many doors of opportunities will close in front of me, but the fates wanted that one side to close all doors on my face, so that another one can come and open some doors of opportunities for me, without asking me to renounce a principle or to negotiate on a cause or situation.
Days and events have convinced and taught me that the shortest roads to success are after hard work are the path of honesty, sincerity, integrity, courage, and steadfastness on principles and values, and that any success that did not go through this path will remain a distorted and diminished success.
I did not climb on people’s appearances, but I sailed on the overflow of their love, I ridiculed all my skills and potential to serve them in exchange for their trust in me, and I came out with the love and friendship between us twice as much as it was at the beginning of the journey.
Life is full of opportunities, successes and failures, and when you stumble at the last step of the ladder of success because of some obstacles in your path, those who are still stumbling at the first step of the ladder will mock you, so don’t turn to the mockers who are lost at the bottom, but keep moving the obstacles in front of you to get to the top, and not keep your mind busy dealing with the enemies of success and with those who busy themselves with the faults of others and forget themselves.
The road is still long and risky, but it does not matter if things do not go the way we want. The important thing is that God and conscience are satisfied with our actions and attitudes.
Have a good time.
Posted May 9, 2025