Guest Column: Democracy, Dearborn Style
By Morris Goodman
There are 25 candidates in the August 4 primary for the seven Dearborn City Council seats with the top 14 to appear on the ballot in the November general election. There is no primary for Mayor (only two candidates, Jack O’Reilly and Michael Prus) and City Clerk (incumbent Kathleen Buda is unopposed).
All seven Council incumbents are running for reelection although I am baffled why Floridian Doug Thomas wants to continue to commute. Of course, I am generally baffled by Doug Thomas, but I digress.
So why are the 18 challengers running when Dearborn history tells us that the odds are overwhelming, practically a certainty, that they are running in vain. Incumbents simply get re-elected here (and usually everywhere else). Presumably they collectively think there is hopefully going to be at least one vacancy when Dearborn’s voters realize that Mr. Thomas has essentially moved to Florida. As a result, he has missed a large number of City Council and important committee meetings since the 2005 election.
Also buoying the 18 challengers is the palpable feeling among voters everywhere — here, throughout Michigan, and nationwide — that governments of all kinds are not solving the problems that really plague us, and we should “throw the rascals out.” Incumbents lost in 2008 because voters were tired of them. Who would have believed in July 2008 that African American Barack Obama would be decisively elected President, and that so many incumbent Republicans would be defeated making both Houses of Congress solidly Democratic?
Each of the 18 Dearborn challengers must believe in July 2009 that Dearborn voters are tired of incumbents too. They each hear an inner voice telling them to go forward regardless of their chances. They know if they can just get their message out to enough voters, they will be chosen to replace one or more of those “tossed out.”
However, the most important reason that so many challengers are running for Dearborn City Council is probably the same reason that has propelled candidates throughout the history of democracy to place themselves before voters — from the Roman Forum to New England town meetings. Each candidate knows that he or she can do the job, do it well, and certainly better than those who have had four (or eight, or 12, or more) years to solve Dearborn’s problems, and, in their minds, failed to do so.
It benefits all Dearbornites that so many people are willing to run for Council, if only to keep the incumbents on their toes. While I don’t know most of the first time candidates, in my Dearborn Hills neighborhood I have seen signs for Patrick D’Ambrosio, Rabih Hammoud, Ali Sayed, Brian O’Donnell, and David Bazzy. My neighbors must think highly of them. And I think highly of my neighbors (at least most of them, regardless of what they think of me.)
I do know Adrenne Wygonik, a faithful member of the Dearborn Democratic Club, have given her money (not enough), and intend to vote for her. I do know Sharon Dulmage who has served ably on the school Board for many years, and I intend to vote for her. I also know Nancy Siwik from the Dearborn Rotary, who was an energetic and effective President, and intend to vote for her. I guess that means I can only vote for four incumbents. I will keep them guessing too.
Regardless of whom you intend to vote for (or against) please, please, please vote on August 4 for Dearborn City Council. Democracy requires so little to make it work; voting is one of those essential things that do make it work.
Morris Goodman is a Dearborn attorney and resident, past president of the Dearborn Democratic Club and a longtime political activist and observer.