By Simon Albaugh \u2013 Yemeni American News<\/p>\n
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. \u2013 In the Nov. 2 election, there are eight candidates campaigning in a last-minute effort to bring their name into the city\u2019s leadership. Two candidates fighting for the mayor\u2019s seat \u2013 Karen Majewski and Amer Ghalib \u2013 have held numerous debates and now all the candidates must hope for the voters now.<\/p>\n
The race is completely up to voters to decide and can\u2019t be predicted with 100% certainty. Still, online polls in Hamtramck\u2019s various Facebook groups can still be a promising indicator for Hamtramck\u2019s most popular candidates.<\/p>\n
Two candidates so far can find some comfort in the poll results: Amanda Jaczowski and Khalil Refai. Both have run a campaign that appeals to a broad base of support in the city\u2019s various demographics. Both are practicing Muslims who will continue the trend of maintaining a muslim majority on city council. Hamtramck is a city where a majority of its residents practice Islam.<\/p>\n
Possibly the most difficult to predict is the mayoral race. Both Majewski and Ghalib have deep-seated support in the city. Those dedicated to change in the city\u2019s politics have been rallying behind Amer Ghalib, a medical practitioner. Karen Majewski has enjoyed the support of those who want to see experienced leadership continue after 16 years of her being mayor.<\/p>\n
The difficulty of the poll results stems from the representation of the city\u2019s various communities. Since the poll was conducted in English-language groups, there\u2019s likely to be a skewed prediction that won\u2019t perfectly match the true results. Those whose first language wasn\u2019t English may not have responded, along with those who desired not to make their voting decisions public on the polls.<\/p>\n
With these conditional points in mind, we\u2019ve compiled these poll results for the mayor and city council races:<\/p>\n
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Mayor\u2019s Race:<\/p>\n
Karen Majewski<\/strong> \u2013 92 respondents indicated their support for the incumbent. In Hamtramck\u2019s English-only groups, the ratio in favor of Majewski is 80\/16.<\/p>\n Amer Ghalib<\/strong> \u2013 41 respondents indicated their support for Ghalib. In the multi-lingual group surveyed, Ghalib has a wide majority with 25\/7.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n City Council Race:<\/p>\n Amanda Jaczkowski<\/strong> \u2013 99 respondents indicated their support. Jaczkowski appears to be the most popular candidate of any race, with the widest support throughout English and Multi-Lingual groups.<\/p>\n Lynn Blasey<\/strong> \u2013 53 respondents indicated their support. Although just outside the top-three position in multi-lingual groups, Lynn still received the 2nd<\/sup> most favorable response.<\/p>\n Khalil Refai<\/strong> \u2013 40 respondents indicated their support. As one of the most popular candidates in multi-lingual groups \u2013 and being the top vote-getter of the August primary, a spot in City Hall is likely for Refai.<\/p>\n Adam Albarmaki<\/strong> \u2013 22 respondents indicated their support. Being just outside the top-three spots for City Council, Albarmaki is still very much in the running for a Council seat. In the Multi-lingual, Albarmaki was even more popular than Jaczkowski.<\/p>\n Muhith Mahmood<\/strong> \u2013 12 respondents indicated their support. Having the most work to do to catch up at the polls, Mahmood is uncomfortably outside the top 3 spots. In the primary, Mahmood finished third in the vote.<\/p>\n Abu Musa<\/strong> \u2013 4 respondents indicated their support. With a quiet campaign, Musa may have slipped in his ranking, even after finishing fifth in the primary. Musa was one of the least popular candidates in both English and Multi-Lingual groups.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For Election results, stay tuned with the Yemeni American News after polls close at 8pm. <\/em><\/p>\n