DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With partial and full terms for City Council and clerk, a full term for treasurer and different proposals on the ballot this year, the results are in for all but one position.
City Council
One of the partial terms on the ballot was to finish out former Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton’s term when she was elected treasurer in 2020.
Mo Baydoun, who was appointed to fill the vacancy in January, and Ned Apigian, who was first elected to the City Council in 2009, were vying for the position, but Baydoun won with 70 percent of the votes. His term will end on Dec. 31, 2023.
Six candidates competed for four full-term seats on the City Council: Incumbents Zouher Abdel-Hak, who was appointed in January to fill Mayor Bill Bazzi’s seat, Tom Wencel, who was elected in 2017 and Robert Constan, who served in the Michigan House of Representatives and has been a Councilman since 2013; and newcomers Hassan Ahmad, a local realtor, Nancy Bryer, who had interviewed for the vacant City Council positions before and Rachel LaPointe, an avid volunteer with many organizations.
Constan received the highest number of votes at 4,860, followed by Wencel with 4,715, Bryer with 4,546 and Ahmad with 4,082.
Voters also saw a partial City Council term on the ballot, with no name entered. This was to finish out Bazzi’s term ending Dec. 31.
Abdel-Hak and Joseph Louis Czapiewski, Jr ran as write-in candidates.
It may take a few weeks before the winner of that race is announced, as the city does not count the write-in votes.
According to City Clerk Lynne Senia, the results are entered by the poll workers in the poll book and those results are sent to the County Board of Canvassers. The Board will then use the poll book when certifying votes for official write-in candidates.
While Senia said there is not a definitive date for when the results are expected, the 2020 certification did not come for a couple of weeks.
Once the results are in, the winner will be sworn in to finish the term.
Above: Election Day in Dearborn Heights, Nov. 2. Photos: Briana Gasorski/The Arab American News
City Clerk
The ballot included both a partial term and full term for city clerk. The partial term, ending Dec. 31, was to finish out former Clerk Walter Prusiewicz’s term after he resigned in May 2020 due to COVID-19 related issues; the full term will end on Dec. 31, 2025.
Senia ran unopposed for both positions and won both.
She was the City Council secretary prior to interviewing and being appointed by the Council, following Prusciewicz’s resignation.
Treasurer
Hicks-Clayton, who was elected in 2020 to finish out former Treasurer John Riley’s term after he retired earlier in the year, ran unopposed for the full four-year term and won.
Proposals
Residents in Precinct 20-Taylor had the opportunity to vote on a school improvement bond for the Taylor School District.
The proposal was to borrow $130 million and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds, in one or more series, for the purpose of paying for the cost of projects, including erecting a new high school building and Career Center building, which will include athletic fields and parking lots; erecting additions to and remodeling of the current high school for conversion to a middle school; remodeling, equipping, re-equipping, furnishing and refurnishing school buildings, athletic and play fields and other facilities to create a modern learning environment for students; for safety and security and other purposes; acquiring and installing instructional technology infrastructure and equipment in school buildings and other facilities and preparing, developing and improving sites at school buildings, athletic and play fields and other facilities.
Voters approved the proposal with 55.25 percent of the votes.
Residents in Precincts 23-27, or the D7 School District, had the opportunity to vote on a millage that would allow the school district to continue to levy not more than the statutory maximum rate of 18 mills on all property except the principal residence and qualified agricultural property required for the school district to continue to receive its full revenue per pupil foundation allowance.
Voters passed the proposal with 56.17 percent of the vote.
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