[5] He ran unsuccessfully for the Birmingham Board of Education's District 3 seat in 2009, placing third in a four-person race. In a historic victory, a 31-year-old state legislator born to immigrants from Lebanon defeated a 66-year-old veteran politician to become the first mayor of Arab descent of Dearborn, a city long . FILE IMAGE: DEARBORN, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 2: Muslim American women, vote for the next American presidency at Maples Elementary School, November 2, 2004, in Dearborn, Michigan. Although he no longer has that original Hammoud for Mayor T-shirt, he is now, 20 years later, running for mayor of his hometown of Dearborn, Michigan. . The population density was 561.8 inhabitants per square mile (216.9/km 2).There were 3,223 housing units at an average density of 252.4 square miles . Fuller, who is seeking reelection in 2020, highlighted that hes given the city council a list of his annual donations from his salary since 2008. Im surely not running as a Muslim or Arab American, Hammoud said. Woodfin was born and raised in North Birmingham and Crestwood neighborhoods. Aug 4, 2021. He attends Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham. Privacy Policy Private Schools, Homeland Infrastructure Foundation. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. These cities have also seen remarkable economic growth and flourished culturally in the past 30 years because of investments by Muslim and Arab American institutions, entrepreneurs, and homeowners, said Sally Howell, a professor at the University of Michigans Dearborn campus and director of the Center for Arab American Studies. The increase represents a compounded 4 percent annual jump within a 12-year range, which totals $115,274.32. [citation needed] He is a fan of Mannie Fresh, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, and Big K.R.I.T.[51]. Finally, weve got an Arab American speaking for this community that is identified with Arab Americans, Howell said of Hammouds victory. The son of immigrants from Lebanon, Hammoud studied epidemiology and later earned a business degree at the University of Michigan. Jamil Khuja, a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the charter commission, said it was odd that only candidates from minority communities face questions about their ability to serve all constituents. 1. Please subscribe to keep reading. His son Mustapha who is now running for Dearborn City Council in 2021 wears the Hammoud for Mayor T-shirt at his side, then son Mazen and wife Mona (L-R) | Photograph courtesy of Abed Hammoud. "[48], Woodfin believes in climate change and in 2018 he signed the "Alabama Mayors for 100% Sustainable Energy Pledge" pledge by the GASP (Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution) to fulfill a campaign promise. So Im going to continue taking $52,000, and Im going to give the rest of it to charity whatever you raise it to. Asked about his early success in politics, he said, Most people in Dearborn view me as somebody they grew up with as a brother, a son, a grandson. The Mayor's Office houses the highest-ranking government official in Arab. [17], Woodfin promised throughout the campaign to conduct a forensic audit on city finances,[18] but upon taking office instead conducted a performance audit. Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. Dearborn Heights already has its first Muslim and Arab American mayor. In Anderson's three years at the collegiate level, no one matched his dominance on a down-to-down basis. [37] The next morning Woodfin ordered the removal of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park to try and prevent another protest. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. Hammoud says he is ready to get to work and immediately begin tackling issues that affect his city, including climate change. Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous, a Muslim immigrant from Lebanon, was mayor from 2002 to 2014 in the city of Wayne, which doesn't have many Arab-American residents. [33], Along with the Birmingham City Council, Woodfin's administration passed a $15 million COVID-19 response plan in March 2020, allocating extra money for first responders' personal protective equipment, allocating overtime pay, and placing $1 million in a small business emergency loan fund. And again, that salary has not been increased since 2008. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen and United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al N eyadi are scheduled to begin their spacewalk on April 28 at 9:15 a.m. Arab, Alabama. In August, Hammoud, 31, placed first in a crowded field of primary candidates for mayor, moving into Tuesdays election facing veteran local politician Gary Woronchak. Water service in Arab is provided through Arab Water Works, which gets water from Browns Creek in Guntersville Lake. Dearborns population is about 42% Arab, according to Census figures. For ecologically minded gardeners, a new nursery has opened in Auburn featuring flora native to our state. But despite this long history, these communities in the metro Detroit area at least one of which has blatantly displayed anti-Arab sentiment in its past have not had significant Muslim or Arab American presence in local government other than city council until now. However, Majewski told The Detroit News on Aug. 4 that she was not worried, Ive come in second on primary night before and Im still here so. However, the postal authorities misspelled the name and it was . Stiffler said while Arabs have been elected to the city council, school board and local court, if Hammoud gets elected on Tuesday, it would show how far the city has come. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. [13], During the campaign, Woodfin criticized Bell's failure to improve Birmingham residents' quality of life[14] and promised to focus his administration on revitalization of the city's 99 neighborhoods. Census.[12]. Arab High School was established in 1921. Arab American activists said if Hammoud does win the election, it would be a historic achievement highlighting their communitys growth in size and political power. Of the 3,012 households 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. According to The Yemeni American News, Aiyash is the first Yemeni American in any state legislature and the highest ranking Yemeni American legislator in the country. During Tuesdays council meeting, Ward 2 Councilwoman Tiffany Gibson-Pitts remarked that the future mayors salary was a big jump and asked why the council hadnt raised it sooner. Dearborn, Michigan Hundreds erupted in cheers at a community centre in Dearborn as Abdullah Hammouds name with a checkmark next to it appeared on a giant screen, confirming that he will become the citys first Arab-American mayor. Besides the race for mayor, Dearborn also elected a new seven-member city council and the members of a commission that will draft a new charter for the city outlining basic local governing principles. Will Anderson Jr., DE/OLB, Alabama. Im running as, more than anything, a son of Dearborn. During the campaign, Woronchak has emphasised his close relationship with the Arab community during his years of public service. We have to immediately start adjusting the climate crisis by putting forth bold and innovative proposals, he said. In October 1996, two years prior to retirement, he was elected to serve on the Arab City Council, and served two consecutive terms through October 2004. Nearby Hamtramck made national news in 2015 when it elected the first Muslim majority City Council in the country. All Rights Reserved. Haidous was elected in . Residents fed up with repeat flooding are asking if their neighborhoods have been intentionally neglected, and are taking particular interest in the mayoral races this year. And he is the first Arab to embark on a long-duration space mission. The 41-year-old, dubbed the "Sultan of Space" by his alma mater, will become the first Arab astronaut to embark on a six-month space mission when he blasted off for the ISS in early March aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. They have a son, Craig, & daughter Lori, who have given them four grandsons and two great-grandsons. Ayah Aldarwish, a 17-year-old high school student volunteering for Hammouds campaign, said no matter the winner, the city must come together to respond to pressing issues, including repeated flooding that has damaged thousands of homes across Dearborn. 29.6% of households were one person and 14.9% were one person aged 65 or older. You can cancel at any time. View map of Arab Mayor, and get driving directions from your location. The UAE is a newcomer to the world of space exploration but quickly making its mark. The first post office was established in 1882, and Thompson became the postmaster in 1892. His successor will be Jeff Mims, who won the election in the Peach City. If he wins, it would make official that the Arab American community here is fully immersed in Dearborn.. The median age was 40 years. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,461. 1.7%. I dont think it would be as meaningful if it wasnt for the fact that you had previous mayors who ran campaigns explicitly on: Hey, weve got to control this Arab population, its getting out of hand.. Bell. I want my children to grow with the same love and passion that I have for Dearborn, he said. Somebody who was born and raised here, who happens to be Muslim Arab American. [15], Bell criticized Woodfin for receiving out-of-state contributions during the campaign; Woodfin argued that it was the only way to combat the incumbent candidate's sizable local donor base. We lawyers, we say a brick is not a wall, said Abed Hammoud. Of Dearborns two longest-serving mayors, Orville Hubbard [1942-1978] was an avowed segregationist who tried to rezone the citys immigrant neighborhood for heavy industry, which would have displaced the citys Arab community and two historic mosques had he succeeded, and Mike Guidos [1986-2006] first campaign in 1985 asked voters to help him solve the citys Arab problem. Dearborn Heights has struggled in recent years, especially some of its school districts, to welcome the many Arab families who have settled there over the past 20 years., WATCH: 20 years on, Muslim journalists reflect on reporting in a post-9/11 world. Absolutely not. mayor at City of Arab,Alabama. The median household income was $36,716 and the median family income was $45,761. Arab Mayor Bob Joslin was recently named the Outstanding Mayor of the Year during the 2017 ACE Star Awards at the Alabama Communities of Excellence Annual Community Reunion in Clanton. Be proud of your name, be comfortable in your identity, because itll take you places if you work hard, youre passionate and you inspire people.. With communities from Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and other countries in the Middle East, the states Arab population is more than 200,000, the second-highest in the US behind California. who was arab alabama first mayor. Abed Hammoud speaking at the Arab American Political Action Committee Annual Dinner in front of prominent Arab American community leaders, elected officials and candidates, and AAPAC Executive Board members, October 29, 2009. On Monday, Marshall County Probate Judge Andrea LeCroy, above left, administered the oath of office to the mayor and town council of Cherokee Ridge, which recently became a municipality. [36], For years, Birmingham residents had been requesting Birmingham take down the Confederate monument located in the park across the street from Birmingham City Hall. He served for 16 years as Mayor Pro Temp. Located in Alabama, the town of Fairview has a lot to discover. Opportunities for higher education are provided by Alabama A & M University, John C Calhoun State Community College, George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville, and many other colleges and universities. In spite of the promise and pledge, the Woodfin administration failed to live up to them. Despite the possibility of making history if he is elected mayor, Hammouds vision is more about what he wants for Dearborn. . If you have questions or fears based on things you might have heard in the media or some negative perceptions about Muslim and Arab Americans, ask, he has said to voters. U.S. Route 231 runs north-to-south through Arab, and State Route 69 runs east-to-west, through the city's business district. Theres a clock on the wall, and theres the question of when is the next heavy rain thats going to set in thats going to lead into the next catastrophic flooding, similar to what we experienced in the past summer when nearly 20,000 homes experienced some type of flooding, Hammoud said. Former Director of Resource Management at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Zahid N. Quraishi, nominee to be US District Judge for the District of New Jersey, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on Capitol Hill in Washington,DC on April 28, 2021. I think if you want to be mayor of Dearborn and you refer to our community, you should mean all of our community, not just one group or one section of town, Woronchak said in a campaign video, calling for an end to divisions in the city. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Election results show that with seven candidates vying for the seat in the Aug. 3 primary election, State Representative Abdullah Hammoud received 42.36 percent of the vote and former State Representative and former Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak came in second with 18.17 percent of the vote. The median age was 42.2 years. He had forged warm ties with the Arab community in the years after his election. And to get it, you had to volunteer.. Dearborn itself has elected many Arab candidates, starting with Suzanne Sareini, a Lebanese American business owner, who won a seat on the city council in 1989. Abed Hammoud, who first ran for mayor of Dearborn in 2001 and co-founded the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) in 1998, saw these mayoral and city council wins as part of the Arab . ET to upgrade the space station's power . An undisclosed illness has seen OReilly fade away from public life in the past year. The per capita income for the city was $23,986. In 2020, there was a gap of 3 percent between those intending to vote and being registered to vote, down from a gap of 21 percent in 2016 and 8 percent in 2018. You have permission to edit this article. Last month, Woronchak slammed Hammoud without naming him for apparently referring to the Arab and Muslim community as our community. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. Originally, the name proposed was Arad. City of Arab, Alabama Oct 2008 - Present 14 years 7 months. I was elected in 04 at $52,000, and then the council wanted to raise it for the term starting in 2008, Fuller recalled. He is a Democrat, but mayoral candidates appear on the ballot without a party label. Sanders campaigned in Dearborn with specific messaging for Arabs and Muslims during his 2016 and 2020 presidential runs. Changes in U.S. immigration laws in 1965 and a long string of political conflicts abroad also contributed to the growth and diversity of this population. The Office of Mayor is a part-time position. The Mayor recommends actions to the City Council, presents proclamations and awards, and performs ribbon cuttings for new businesses, The Mayor approves the financing of all City of Arab operations, and. The Mayor recommends actions to the City Council, presents proclamations and awards, and performs ribbon cuttings for new businesses. . Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the United States. I am a member of the Dearborn community. The state has long been at the heart of Arab American political power. All Rights Reserved. Sultan Al Neyadi appeared wearing an unmarked white space suit as part of the six-and-a-half hour . Jul 21, 2017. Arab City Schools is the public school district. Soon after, Hammoud took the stage as the crowd rushed towards the podium late on Tuesday with cell phones raised to document the moment that many described as historic. His historic walk out of the International Space Station (ISS) lasted for nearly seven hours. Whoever is elected mayor of Opelika in 2020 will earn an annual income of $120,000 rather than $72,000, a decision that was authorized Tuesday by the Opelika City Council. If my mother was ever in need, I hope that a good neighbor would step up to help.. I support a lot of things on the left butif Im being realI also believe you gotta win. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. It was six years later, in 1998, when he would finally retire from the Corps, a successful career that effectively prepared him for his upcoming role as Chief Executive Officer of the City of Arab, and Champion of its future. While Arabs in the city may have had the numbers to elect a mayor from their community in the past, the advantage of incumbency in local races has played to the benefit of officials already in office. The Opelika mayors annual salary was last adjusted on Feb. 19, 2008. [5], Arab was a sundown town, with a sign warning African Americans not to stay in Arab after dark[7] and, historically, even barring them during the day. Cell: (256) 506-6424. As Dearborn is often presented negatively due to its populations background, having a Muslim and Arab [American] mayor will hopefully highlight the incredible resilience and success of this community, Alsoofy said. Our Revolution President Nina Turner visited Birmingham twice to campaign for Woodfin. To the young girls and boys who have ever been ridiculed for their faith or ethnicity, to those of you who were ever made to feel that their names were unwelcome, and to our parents and to our elders and to others who are humiliated for their broken English and yet still persisted: Today is proof that you are as American as anyone else, Hammoud said. At the 2000 census there were 7,174 people in 3,012 households, including 2,075 families, in the city. who was arab alabama first mayor. As far back as Jesse Jacksons 1984 presidential campaign, US politicians vying for national office have courted the Arab vote, particularly in Michigan. As of Mar 16, 2023, the average annual pay for a Mayor in Alabama is $63,971 a year. Dearborn, a city known for its large Arab and Muslim population, elects 31-year-old state lawmaker as next mayor. The city of Arab was founded by Stephen Tuttle Thompson and was originally known as Thompson's Village. Where the fact that Arab Americans running for office is a natural thing, not the exception., WATCH: How American Muslims have been represented in popular culture post-9/11. [19], In March 2018, Woodfin's transition committee announced it had discovered that the city's pension fund had been consistently underfunded for more than 15 years, endangering the city's credit rating and retirement benefits for thousands of city employees. Males had a median income of $44,401 versus $40,062 for females. This role required him to move with his family several times in the course of his 36 years, including the movefrom, Bob Joslin, Mayor Arab City Hall 740 North Main Street Arab, Alabama 35016 Cell: (256) 506-6424 Office: (256) 586-8128 Fax: (256) 586-9711 Email Bob Joslin, Katie Jones, Assistant to the MayorOffice: (256) 586-8128Fax: (256) 586-9711. Bell. We all come from the Arab world where theres no democracy. In the August primaries, Hammoud and Woronchak were the two highest vote-getters in a pool of seven candidates. Keith Huffman/. So my counterpart in Auburn is Jim Buston.. The city has pressing local issues, including property taxes, public safety concerns and repeated flooding. In doing that, Bob was able to focus on his first true love restoring antique cars a passion that continues to connect him with his son and four grand-sons. Hammoud, currently a state representative, won the primaries in August with a comfortable margin. Other candidates that year, including the aforementioned Abed Hammoud, who helped found the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) in 1998, running for mayor in Dearborn and Shahab Ahmed running for city council in Hamtramck that year, lost their election bids, in part because of post-9/11 fear and backlash. NFL draft 2023 best available players. A drawback, though, is that so many members have been elected or appointed to important positions that they are often too busy to be able to help volunteer as much as they used to. About 8.2% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/decades-after-the-arab-problem-muslim-and-arab-americans-are-leading-political-change-in-metro-detroit. Dearborn is the greatest city in the whole country and everybodys just learning it, said Hammoud, an epidemiologist, child of Lebanese immigrants, and graduate of Dearborn High School and University of Michigan Dearborn. Woodfin cited Biden's ability to "make sure down-ballot candidates can win" as a primary reason for his endorsement. And in order to, I think, to attract a candidate: maybe theres other folks out there, like I am, that maybe had a successful business and would do it as a labor of love. Their fire department has one station, sitting on top of Marshall County 911 center. This summer, three intense thunderstorms in Southeastern Michigan caused severe flooding of thousands of homes in several Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, and Detroit neighborhoods signs of aging infrastructure and accelerating climate change. He did, and was elected Mayor in 2012, and was re-elected to a second term in October 2016, which expires in 2020. In 2016, he was elected to represent Dearborn in the state House of Representatives. The per capita income for the city was $20,035. He is a board member of several community organizations, including the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama. [1] He previously served as president of the Birmingham City School Board (2013-2015) and as a city attorney of . Public Libraries Survey, 2015, Institute of Museum and Library Services. [4] The current name of the town was an unintentional misspelling by the U.S. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. Representation matters., Rashida Tlaib made history as first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress. Over the past five years, Hammoud gained a reputation as a left-leaning lawmaker, endorsing Bernie Sanders for president in 2020 and describing himself as a pragmatic progressive. Hamtramck used to be a primarily Catholic and Polish American community, and since the city was founded in 1922, every mayor has been both Catholic and Polish American. Office: (256) 586-8128. Abdullah Hammoud (Arabic: ; born March 19, 1990) is an American politician who is the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, a position to which he was elected on November 2, 2021.Hammoud had previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing 15th district since 2017.. Hammoud is the first Arab-American and first Muslim mayor of Dearborn as well as the second . Popularity:#1 of 4 Mayor Offices in Marshall County#27 of 101 Mayor Offices in Alabama#673 in Mayor Offices. If we had raised it each and every year, then the city would have incurred that expense, and we would be, at this point, at the $120,000 anyway after 12 years, Smith T said. Huntsville International Airport-Carl T Jones Field is the nearest airport. Randall Woodfin. Hammoud, a 31-year-old state representative, beat former local official Gary Woronchak, winning 55 percent of the votes on Tuesday. Calls were made to all Alabama cities with population ranges of 23,000 or more, based on information from the Alabama League of Municipalities. Arab has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. Randall Woodfin (born May 29, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 34th and current mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, after winning the October 3, 2017, runoff against incumbent William A. . The Mayor serves as the Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of Arab City Government, and is responsible for the implementation of all City Laws & Operations set forth by the Office of the Mayor and the City Council. The Arab time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Late Mayor Orville Hubbard, who ran the city from 1942 to 1978, was a vocal advocate for racial segregation. A Michigan city considered to be the center of Arab America has finally elected its first Arab-American mayor. [17] The census division only includes the Marshall County portion of the town of Arab. 2000 census data. J.R.N. . [40][41], Woodfin was selected as one of seventeen speakers to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Dearborn, Michigan - For the first time in decades, the mayoral race in Dearborn is wide open, creating an opportunity for the Detroit suburb known as the capital of Arab America to . As Tunis's mayor, she is an electoral rarity in the Arab world. A Warner Bros. I think if you want to be mayor of Dearborn and you refer to our community, you should mean all of our community, not just one group or one section of town, Woronchak said in a campaign video released in September. So until today, the Arab American PAC functions one person, one vote. Is Dearborn for $ale, read a banner on Woronchacks campaign website, alleging donations came from outside the state. Postal Service in 1882 of the city's intended name, taken from Arad Thompson, the son of the town founder, who had applied for a post office that year. Discovery Company. Mayor Arab City Hall 740 North Main Street Arab, Alabama 35016 Cell: (256) 506-6424 Office: (256) 586-8128 Fax: (256) 586-9711 Email Bob Joslin. Hammoud is serving his third term as state representative for Michigans 15th District, which includes Dearborn. Lets debate everything. It also illustrates the extent to which these communities have developed strong candidates, an engaged electorate, and a commitment to the kind of local politics that bring positive changes to the everyday lives of individuals, Howell said.