If you plan on voting in Dearborn’s August. 4 city primary you’ll need to be a registered voter. The voter registration deadline for the primary is Tuesday, July 7.

This is an important primary as we have 25 candidates vying for seven City Council seats. The top 14 vote getters will proceed to the general election. So if you aren’t a registered voter, please get out and do so before the deadline.

The voter registration deadline for the November 3 city general election is Monday, October 5.

A candidate for Dearborn mayor whose petitions were ruled invalid has filed a grievance with the elections commission requesting reconsideration in the matter.

The Dearborn Clerk’s office ruled last week that some of the signatures on Ziad Abdulhamid Abdulmalik’s petition were invalid, which automatically made him ineligible to run for Dearborn mayor. He is now asking that the decision be reconsidered.

The City Clerk’s office will meet with election commission officials next week to discuss a variety of matters, including the request by Abdulmalik. According to the clerk’s office, a number of the signatures on Abdulmalik’s petition did not match the signatures the clerk’s office keeps on file of all registered voters in Dearborn.

The Clerk’s office took similar action with Doug Thomas, who submitted petitions for both city council and mayor. His petition for council was deemed valid but his mayoral one was thrown out because a number of the signatures were from people who are not registered voters in Dearborn, which is a requirement. Apparently either Thomas or his supporters overlooked that tiny detail as a number of the signatures on his mayoral petition were from Dearborn Heights residents.

Of course, the drama of not having the required amount of signatures to run for mayor could have been avoided by both Thomas and Abdulmalik. Had the candidates turned in their petitions ahead of the deadline, they would have had time to actually go back out and get the proper signatures from registered Dearborn voters to make their petitions valid before the time ran out.  

As it stands now, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., will face just one challenger, Michael J. Prus, in the November general election.

Dearborn Fire Chief Nazih Hazime plans to retire July 30, his 25th year as a Dearborn firefighter, to become chief of the Sedona Fire District in Sedona, Ariz.

The Dearborn Press & Guide reported this news first in their Sunday edition.

“I want to make it clear that I’m not running away from Dearborn – I love this city,” Hazime, a Dearborn resident for more than 30 years told the Press & Guide. “It was a very difficult decision to leave, but this represents a great opportunity. I’m going to miss everyone – especially my colleagues in the fire department.”

Before being named fire chief, from 1984 to 2004, Hazime held the positions of firefighter I, firefighter II, fire pump operator, firefighter II and lieutenant with the Dearborn Fire Department. The late Mayor Michael A. Guido appointed him fire chief in February 2004.

Hazime told the Press & Guide that he learned May 9 he had been unanimously selected from among 52 candidates to serve as fire chief of the Sedona Fire District, which oversees two communities and two counties with a population of about 22,000.

The majority of Dearborn residents rate the quality of life in their city as excellent or good, believe they are getting their money’s worth for their tax dollars and would favor as a cost-save City Hall being open for just four days a week with longer hours, according to the results from a phone survey recently released by the city.

About 400 registered voters took part in the survey, with 83 percent saying the quality of life in Dearborn was excellent or good, while only 1.1 percent found it poor or very poor.

The survey was conducted by Shreck & Associates in February and the results were shared with city council at their Monday meeting. Of those surveyed, about 37.3 percent reside in East Dearborn, 30.3 percent live in Southwest Dearborn, 25.3 percent in Northwest Dearborn, 3.3 percent in Springwells and 4 percent the South End.

According to the survey:

• 41.3 percent were unable to list any dislike with the city or its services
• 6 percent ranked taxes as a dislike
• 5.8 percent ranked culture as a dislike
• 5 percent disliked the rate of commercial development
• 3.5 percent ranked empty houses and home upkeep as a dislike
• 2.8 percent rated parking as a dislike

Concern about crime was minimal, as just 1.5 percent of respondents mentioned it as an issue, according to survey results.

As the survey was conducted via landline phones, residents who only have cellular phone service were not included in the survey.
“This survey is slanted slightly toward an older demographic,” Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., told the Dearborn Press & Guide. “It’s still perfectly valid, but it’s something we need to keep in mind.”

In addition, the survey found:

• 71 percent of those surveyed agreed they get their money’s worth for tax dollars
• 14.5 percent said they did not get their money’s worth
• 13.5 percent were not sure
• 40 percent said the city no longer has the money to provide the services it did in the past
• 84.3 percent would support, as a cost-save, City Hall being open four days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. rather than the current 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days per week.

How could the City save money?

• 4.9 percent suggested reducing city services
• 4.1 percent said eliminate or cut back on underutilized facilities
• 3.4 percent said close pools
• 3.1 percent said eliminate Homecoming
• 2.8 percent said reduce staff
• 2.8 percent said sell or close Camp Dearborn

Those surveyed also rated direct mail as the best way for the city to communicate to residents, with about two thirds saying so. Just 5.3 percent mentioned they wanted to receive more information via the Internet. Some 8.8 percent said they would like to conduct more city business online. Those surveyed under the age of 45 said they would like to use the Internet for City business (18.5 percent), while 62.5 percent of respondents 18 to 25 years said they would.

On Fairlane Town Center residents were split on shopping there when they needed to go to a mall:

• 43.8 percent said they regularly shop there
• 55 percent do not
• 1.3 percent were unsure

When asked why they didn’t shop at Fairlane:

• 11.5 percent said they preferred other shopping venues
• 8.8 percent mentioned crime or safety reasons
• 8 percent don’t drive or get out much
• 7.8 percent don’t like Fairlane
• 6.5 percent mentioned the clientele or culture of the mall as a reason (age, race, ethnicity)
• 3.5 percent simply don’t like malls

What is best about living in Dearborn? According to the survey, city services ranked first (29.3 percent), following by safety and community and then schools.

Get ready for some heavy duty campaigning this summer as enough candidates have filed to serve on the Dearborn City Council to force a primary on August 4.

Below is a list of the candidates as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Dearborn City Clerk’s office will spend the day today to confirm the validity of the signatures on the other petitions. Candidates have until Friday to withdraw from the race.

The race for mayor so far includes Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., and Michael Prus. Councilman Doug Thomas did file a petition for the position but the clerk’s office still is checking on the validity of the signatures on his petition. Thomas also filed to run for his council seat. The petition for that position was valid.

For the first time since being elected to City Clerk, Kathleen Buda will be running unopposed after John Jay Hubbard withdrew his petition for the race.

The top 14 vote getters in the August primary will proceed to the general election in November. The council candidates include:

1. Robert Abraham (I)
2. Joseph Agius
3. David Bazzy
4. Terry Burke
5. Khalil Dakhlallah
6. Patrick D’Ambrosio
7. George Darany (I)
8. Mark Dawdy
9. Stephen Dobkowski, Jr
10. Sharon Dulmage
11. Rabih Hammoud
12. George Hart
13. Nancy Hubbard (I)
14. Patrick Kiernan
15. Scott Marquette
16. Brian O’Donnell
17. Suzanne Sareini (I)
18. Ali Sayed
19. Molly Sharp
20. Mark Shooshanian (I)
21. Nancy Siwik
22. Hussein Sobh
23. Thomas Tafelski (I)
24. Doug Thomas (I)
25. Adrenne Wygonik

Tom P. Tafelski has finally made it official, announcing he indeed would be seeking a third term as a Dearborn city councilman.

Currently council president, a position that goes to the highest vote getter, Tafelski is one of the last of Dearborn’s seven member council to officially declare he would seek reelection. (Doug Thomas hasn’t said whether he will seek reelection for his council seat or a run for mayor, yet. He has pulled petitions for both.) The final day to file petitions to run is Tuesday, May 12.

There had been chatter around town that Tafelski might try a run against sitting Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., but at the end of the day that proved to be just that – talk.

On Tuesday we will learn just how many of the candidates who pulled petitions to run for city council will actually remain in the race.

Nancy Siwik, who unsuccessfully ran for council in the last election, appears to be throwing her hat in the ring again. Siwik, an owner of Jedtco Corporation in Westland, is a member of the Dearborn Plan Commission and owns a bed and breakfast at 22331 Morley.

Also said to be gathering the needed 100 signatures to appear on the ballot in November is Joey Agius, owner of the Double Olive bar on Michigan Avenue.

Michael Berry, who ran a solid race for council in 2005 and had pulled a petition to run this time around, is unfortunately said to be reconsidering a run because of job and family commitments. That’s too bad because we think he would have been a strong candidate.

In addition to Siwik, Agius, Berry and the seven council members seeking reelection, the others again include:

1. David W. Bazzy (former Charter Commission member)
2. Khalil Dakhlallah
3. Mark J. Dawdy
4. Stephen S. Dobkowski Jr. (former Charter Commissioner later removed from office because of unpaid property taxes)
5. Sharon Dulmage (former school board member)
6. Andrew Giordano
7. Bradley Hajec
8. Rabih Hammoud
9. George Hart (a former state senator who long ago retired from politics. He turns 82 in May)
10. Trinette L. Jordan
11. Vincent Laing
12. Scott J. Marquette
13. Maureen A. McIlrad-Noland
14. Brian C. O’Donnell
15. Mark. A Otlewski
16. Ali Sayed (runs Hype Athletics in conjunction with Dearborn Rec. Dept.)
17. Kristyn Taylor
18. Raymond T. Trudeau (former Charter Commissioner)
19. Adrenne M. Wygonik (wife of 19th District Judge Richard Wygonick)

Councilman Doug Thomas

So Dearborn Councilman Doug Thomas wants to “keep ‘em guessing” on whether he decides to run for mayor or for his current city council seat. At least that’s what he told the Dearborn Press and Guide in its April 29 edition on why he pulled petitions for both positions.

Thomas has until 4 p.m. on May 15 to make a decision, the deadline for candidates to decide.

From where we sit, our guess is that it appears Thomas is setting up his exit strategy from Dearborn politics altogether.

In recent years, Mr. Thomas has had a poor attendance record as a councilman. So much so that the Dearborn Democrats club at a meeting in August 2007 discussed a recall effort because of it. The councilman was spending more time at his Florida home than he was at his elected job in Dearborn or his home here, which he has been trying to sell.

Let’s face facts. Running for mayor against sitting Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., is a non-starter. O’Reilly likely will be mayor until he decides not to. He is just that strong.

So why might Mr. Thomas be considering such a run? Is it a way to go out with a bang, running for the top job in City Hall even though a loss is inevitable? We think it might be. He was elected to his fifth term as a Dearborn councilman in November 2005 and running for a sixth term won’t be a cakewalk.

There could be as many as 26 people running for seven council seats this election. If Dearborn voters head to the polls this November with the mindset that major change is needed in our city, no sitting councilmember will have it easy.

This should be interesting race to watch.

Thirteen more Dearborn residents have pulled petitions to run for Dearborn City Council, bringing the number to date to 26.

When we last wrote about this race on March 4, just 13 had pulled petitions. For that story, click HERE

It isn’t yet clear whether all will run but if the field stays larger than 14, and it appears that will indeed happen, Dearborn will have to hold a primary election for city council in August. The filing deadline for those interested in running for council is May 12.

We will be the first to say that Dearborn residents like their incumbents, which means it could be more of the same. However, if the unhappy mood today from residents about their city government and the state of their city carries into the voting booth in November, we could see a lot of fresh faces on city council.

All of the current council members have pulled petitions to seek reelection, except Tom Tafelski. Odds are he too will seek reelection, although some around town keep dropping hints to us that he is considering a run for mayor.

So the list looks like this: Council members, Robert Abraham, George Darany, Nancy Hubbard, Suzanne Sareini, Mark Shooshanian and Doug Thomas are all in.

Those hoping to unseat this group include:

1. David W. Bazzy (former Charter Commission member)
2. Michael Berry (ran a solid but unsuccessful campaign for council in 2005)
3. Khalil Dakhlallah
4. Mark J. Dawdy
5. Stephen S. Dobkowski Jr. (former Charter Commissioner later removed from office because of unpaid property taxes)
6. Sharon Dulmage (former school board member)
7. Andrew Giordano
8. Bradley Hajec
9. Rabih Hammoud
10. George Hart (a former state senator who long ago retired from politics. He turns 82 in May)
11. Trinette L. Jordan
12. Vincent Laing
13. Scott J. Marquette
14. Maureen A. McIlrad-Noland
15. Brian C. O’Donnell
16. Mark. A Otlewski
17. Ali Sayed (runs Hype Athletics in conjunction with Dearborn Rec. Dept.)
18. Kristyn Taylor
19. Raymond T. Trudeau (former Charter Commissioner)
20. Adrenne M. Wygonik (wife of 19th District Judge Richard Wygonick)

Plans call for Dearborn's first-ever dog park and four new soccer fields.

The Dearborn City Council Monday night approved a measure that paves the way for the city to continue to pursue a plan to add four new soccer fields and create the city’s first-ever dog park on a parcel of property along Gulley Road, just behind the Dearborn Racquet & Health Club and adjacent to Crowley Park.

The Council approved a land split in the Gulley industrial park area, giving the city permission to continue with its plans. In November 2008, city council approved purchase for $545,000 an “L” shaped piece of property that was part of the now-closed Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC) lot and a portion of property behind the Dearborn Racquet club. The health club owners purchased the MESC property as part of their long range planning and then sold a portion of it to the city.

Costs for the fenced dog-park, four soccer fields, proper irrigation, a parking lot and construction of a new access road off of Gulley to the park would be about $500,000, an amount City Council would still need to approve. The funding is currently budgeted in a draft of the city’s fiscal year 2010 budget.

The new soccer fields and the new access road to them from Gulley Road would take some of the pressure off of Crowley Park and neighborhoods on soccer Saturdays in the Oxford and Telegraph area. Currently, there is only one entrance to Crowley Park off of Oxford Road. It would also allow the city to rotate use of the soccer fields as a way to keep them in better condition. To alleviate some of the concerns area residents have about creating a new access road off of Gulley into this park (currently sealed with a brick wall), city officials say the road would be gated, closing at 10 p.m. The road will not be a pass through into Crowley Park, city officials said.

Separately, the Dearborn Soccer Club granted the city $100,000 to repair a comfort station at Crowley Park and build a new 40-foot x 40-foot picnic shelter. The refurbished comfort station and picnic shelter will be opened this summer.

We think the planned soccer fields and dog park would be a nice addition to Dearborn’s current 43 parks. To have so much green space in a city as old and as large as Dearborn really is unheard of and we residents are fortunate.

Dearborn City Planner John Nagy sums the value of our parks up best: “The parks are the lungs of the city.”

The recent arrest of two Dearborn police officers brings to at least six the number of men in blue over the past several years to tarnish the image of our city and our police department, an organization that has a reputation as being a “leader among police agencies in Michigan.”

Now, let’s be clear. We know that these half dozen officers do not represent the more than 200 highly trained and dedicated men and women in Dearborn who work day and night to keep our city safe. And there is no other city I’d rather live in because we have such a talented and hard-working group of officers.

However, these few arrests are a black eye for a police department that was formed in 1929 and today has some of the highest standards around, priding itself on having a response time of less than one minute; a top-notch crime lab; a SWAT team and state-of-the-art police equipment that is the envy of surrounding cities. It’s just sad that so few can tarnish the hard, honest work of 99.9 percent of the force.

Dearborn police who have made headlines recently include:

1. Cpl. Alex Brian Ramirez, 42. He was charged by prosecutors last week with several felonies in connection with a bribery scheme that allegedly involved fixing traffic tickets.
2. Cpl. Gino Soave. He was arrested last week and charged in a Macomb County court with tax evasion and tax fraud over a purchase of a boat. Because Michigan taxes are at issue, the investigation was handled by the Attorney General’s Office and the State Police.
3. In 2008, Sgt. David Marshall was demoted to corporal for taking part of a deck of pornographic playing cards from a man’s home during a routine run in August 2008. “He was in the house, he saw the cards there and he took some of them as a parting gift,” Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly earlier told the Dearborn Press & Guide. “It was a stupid mistake.”
4. Officer Daniel Saab was discharged from the department in June 2007. Mayor Jack O’Reilly said then that his discharge was unrelated to the charges brought against him in a 2005 trial. Saab in 2005 was sentenced to 24 months probation and fined $500 after being convicted of malicious use of a telephone. Saab was accused of making harassing phone calls to former state Sen. George Hart.
5. Police Officer Edward Sanchez, 30, resigned in 2006 after allegedly consuming brownies laced with marijuana recovered from a criminal suspect. In 2007 it was decided that criminal charges would not be filed against Sanchez who admitted to baking brownies laced with marijuana seized from a criminal suspect. Sanchez contacted the Dearborn Heights Police Department on April 21, 2006 and told an emergency dispatcher he thought he and his wife were overdosing on marijuana.
6. Officer David Finazzo was charged in 2005 with two misdemeanors, one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of leaving the scene of an injury accident.

We will be the first to say that it’s good that Dearborn is being transparent and bringing these incidents out into the public. Unfortunately, like teachers and firefighters, police officers are held to a higher standard whether on-duty or off-duty giving these types of stories a much higher profile.

However, the question remains, why is this happening in Dearborn and what is being done by our city and police leaders to prevent this kind of behavior from happening in the future?