By Simon Albaugh – Yemeni American News
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Moving ahead in the primary for Mayor are incumbent Karen Majewski and Dr. Amer Ghalib, who garnered 60% of the vote together. Dr. Ghalib was the top vote-getter with 37%, or 1,417 total votes.
Lasting another round in the campaigns for city council are Khalil Refai, the top vote getter at 1,685 (20%), then Amanda Jaczkowski (17.5%), Muhith Mahmood (13.25%), Adam Albarmaki (12.6%), Abu A. Musa (11.4%), and Lynn Blasey (10.6%).
The Millage Proposal failed by a resounding 83% of the vote, totaling 2,916 – more than any candidate received. The Proposal would’ve allowed for the city to increase taxes by up to 10 mils, or $10 for every $1,000 of taxable income. Supporters say that this was the best way to address the budget shortfall, while critics call attention to the already high tax burden of Hamtramck.
Of all the races, voters turned out most for the City Council race, with 8,463 votes cast for people’s favorite to serve on the council. The Mayoral race received less than half of that, with 3,857 total votes on the mayor. The Ballot proposal was only voted on 3,521 times.
In the Aug. 3 election, voters continued the trend of coming out to vote strongly in absentee, with around 8,000 votes cast for the City Council race – just over 5,000 of which were absentee. Similar trends in the other races showed that almost half of total voters cast their ballot in-person.
Some candidates have already released statements regarding their campaigns. Candidates who made it through the primary in order to make it on the November Ballot celebrated their successful campaigns, making sure to thank their supporters.
“We’re in for round 2!” said Candidate Amanda Jaczkowski. “I’ll be scheduling more coffee hour meet and greets, knocking on more doors and attending more events… after a nap or two! Thank you again to everyone who had confidence in me to vote, and we’ll do it again over the next few months!”
Khalil Refai, the top candidate in the City Council Primary Election, showed humility to the Yemeni American community that supported his campaign, promising to be a candidate for all if elected.
“My sincere thanks and gratitude to the people of the Yemeni American community in Hamtramck, who honored me with this support and victory,” said top vote-getter Khalil Refai. “You have my sincere support, appreciation and respect, and I hope to continue to the final elections, and I promise that I will do my best to serve the residents of the city in general.”
Lynn Blasey, who collected a 200-vote buffer from losing the primary, thanked her supporters and all voters during the primary.
“It looks like I made it through the primary today!” said candidate Lynn Blasey. “Thank you so much to everyone that voted absentee and in person, those that came out to the polls to support, and everyone else for your support! I appreciate you all.”
Leaving the election after not receiving enough votes are Kamal Rahman, who was just over 200 votes under Karen Majewski, and Saad Almasmari, who received the least number of votes for the mayoral race.
Cody Lown and Armani Asad are leaving the race after not receiving enough votes to move past the City Council primary election.
