Three join election as write-ins

By Charles Sercombe
The upcoming Nov. 4 city election just got a whole lot more interesting.
Two city council candidates who didn’t make the final cut in the August Primary Election, Joe Strzalka and Diane Elizabeth Frkan, are running write-in campaigns to give it one more shot.
Also, former city council candidate Lynn Blasey, who failed to win a seat on council two times in other years, is now seeking the top job as mayor, also as a write-in candidate.
Strzalka, who is a former councilmember and now retired from the U.S. State Department, said he is getting feedback from some voters that they were going to write in his name in anyway.
That would not have counted, because candidates have to register as a write-in in order for the votes to be legitimate.
So, with that in mind, Strzalka said he was “honored” — and filed.
“In some ways, it’s a protest vote,” Strzalka said.
Strzalka continued: “There are many people who feel there were irregularities in the primary, and they have no legitimate candidate to vote for. This way, people can still vote in the general election without voting for a person believed to have committed election fraud.”
Although write-in candidates are usually considered longshots, it does sometimes work. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is a prime example of running as a successful write-in candidate, as he did for his first term.
Frkan, who was the only woman on the August ballot, told The Review that the reason she is running again is “because our community deserves a stronger, independent leadership that puts its residents first. I refuse to sit back, when I know that I can contribute to positive change, to be a part of a City Council rooted in accountability, transparency, and responsibility for a better future for Hamtramck.”
Blasey said she is seeking the mayor’s seat because there were “several community members, from all backgrounds, who weren’t planning on voting or (would be) turning in a ballot without any vote for mayor because they didn’t feel comfortable voting for either of our mayoral candidates.
“I’m running to encourage continued participation in our democratic process, and to give folks a choice they can feel good about.”
The mayor’s seat is wide-open due to Mayor Amer Ghalib not seeking re-election while he awaits being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the next ambassador to Kuwait.
Blasey will be joined by mayoral candidates Muhith Mahmood and Adam Alharbi.
Mahmood decided not to seek re-election to council, and instead is seeking the city’s top elected job.
Alharbi is a supporter of Ghalib, and has been endorsed by the mayor. He appears to be the leading candidate.
In the city council race, Strzalka and Frkan are up against the following candidates:
Current Councilmember Abu Musa, former Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury and newcomers, Yousuf Saed, Motahar Fadhel, Abdulmalik Kassim, and Luqman Saleh.
In other election news, absentee ballots are now available. There is still plenty of time for those who are not registered voters to sign up, and you can even register on the day of election and be able to vote.
To qualify to vote in Hamtramck, you must be a resident and at least 18 years old.
Posted Oct. 3, 2025