Will Hamtramck pay a political price?

Recently, Mayor Amer Ghalib, who is no stranger to controversy, made a comment at a city council meeting that jumped out to us.
At the Aug. 27 council meeting, Mayor Ghalib made this astonishing admission about the city’s relationship with state officials:
“We are very proud this state doesn’t like us. We know the reason why the attorney general (Dana Nessel) doesn’t like us, so we don’t care.”
“We don’t care?” Really?
We know the mayor is a newcomer to politics, this being his first elected office he has held, so here’s a pro tip: alienating state officials who control some of the money flow to the city is never a good thing.
The city council and mayor are here to do one thing: Take care of Hamtramck.
The council and mayor should be laser-focused on the singular job of all things local.
As Tip O’Neill, the legendary and long-time Speaker of the U.S. House or Representatives in Congress, said: “All politics are local.”
So, we ask the mayor and city council: how is getting on the bad side of state officials going to benefit Hamtramck?
Or, maybe more to the point: Will Hamtramck end up paying the political consequences in lost grants and other funding?
The number one job of local officials is to attract investment into the city, which includes state funding. Proudly proclaiming joy in making state elected officials not like you is not the best way to get that job done.
Posted Oct. 4, 2024