Mayor looks ahead to one more term

Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib

By Charles Sercombe
It’s official now.
Mayor Amer Ghalib will seek re-election for another term.
That ends weeks-long speculation about whether he would. On top of that, he no longer has City Councilmember Mohammed Hassan as a potential challenger. Hassan bowed out of the race on Tuesday.
Here’s what Ghalib had to say on Facebook on Tuesday:
“Without hesitation or fear, I proudly announce my candidacy for Mayor of Hamtramack for a second term, and to continue to serve our community with honesty, dedication and sincerity, through this position, and through other prestigious future positions.
“With no hesitance and no fear, I’m proudly announcing that I’m running for the mayoral office for a second term.
“I’ll continue to serve my city and my community with sincerity, commitment, and integrity, through this position and through other potential prestigious future positions.
“Let the journey continue.”
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Ghalib conducted a poll on his Facebook page, asking whether to seek re-election.
Here’s what he had to say, verbatim:
“As the deadline to register for local elections draws near, do you support the re-election and election of Mayor Amar Ghaleb as Mayor of Hamtramk City for a second term?
“Do you support the re-election of Mayor Amer Ghalib for a second term?
“Survey for residents of Hamtramack and who has connections or interests in the city? Survey is for Hamtramck residents and those with interests in the city.”
Nearly 1,000 people responded, although a large number who commented live in other states. In a casual review of the responses, folks were overwhelmingly in favor of Ghalib running again.
Hussein Gelan is one of Ghalib’s supporters.
“I fully support you Mr. Mayor’ for re-election for a second term. You are the only and best leader for Hamtramck, and your leadership has made a significant impact in Hamtramck’s city,” Gelan said.
“Your dedication, vision, and hard work have helped move the city forward, and I believe you is the right person to continue leading the city toward a brighter future.”
Former City Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury also encouraged the mayor.
“The most qualified candidate we have now, charming, intelligent and honest person,” Choudhury said.
But another former councilmember, Phillip Kwik, who was in office in the 1990s, was succinct in his disapproval:“No. And I live in Hamtramck.”
Ghalib shot back: “I respect that. You said NO in 2021 too, and I still won with 69% of the votes, so not surprised!”
Ghalib is in his first term, and those who would like to run for mayor (or one of the three seats on city council) have until April 22 to file to run.
For the past few weeks, the mayor has been cagey about whether he would go for another term.
At the same time that Ghalib was deciding whether to seek another term, he was also waiting to hear if he would be offered a position in President Trump’s administration.
The possibility of Ghalib getting a federal job comes at the same time that the Trump administration is firing thousands of federal employees.
Until Tuesday of this week, it looked like City Councilmember Mohammed Hassan was set to challenge Ghalib for the title of mayor.
But after weeks of posturing that he was running, on Tuesday Hassan suddenly announced he won’t.
Why?
Here’s what Hassan had to say on Facebook:
“Good afternoon Hamtramck. From the March 1st, I have a new position in my work place. For the new responsibilities I will not have enough time for the Mayor position. Sorry, so I am not running for Mayor.”
Had Hassan decided to run, that would have ended his career on city council. He had a deadline of Feb. 22 to resign from council in order to qualify to be on the ballot.
That’s because the city charter requires councilmembers who wish to run for mayor, and are not in the last year of their term, to resign. So that means Hassan has all of next year to sit on council.
Posted Feb. 21, 2025