The goal isnt to be the first Were trying to set a standard that individuals might sound a little different; you might pray a little different, but if you do as good a job, you wont be the last, he said. [8] Ku Klux Klan material has been disseminated multiple times in Arab in recent years.[9]. Im the founder, I dont have any extra rights in there, said Abed Hammoud. On the other hand, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba, who leads a city with a similar council-manager form of government as Auburn, makes $42,000, and Dothan City Manager Mike West earns $179,795.20. If he wins, it would make official that the Arab American community here is fully immersed in Dearborn.. You have permission to edit this article. John B OReilly has had the seat since 2007, having ascended to it after being city council president for 17 years after the death of then-mayor Michael Guido who had been in office since 1986. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $30.76 an hour. Private Schools, Homeland Infrastructure Foundation. Thank you. A Michigan city considered to be the center of Arab America has finally elected its first Arab-American mayor.. Abdullah Hammoud, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was born and raised in Dearborn . Hammoud is completing his third two-year term in the Michigan House of Representatives, to which he was elected when he was 25. [30], Several high-profile gun deaths high-schooler Courtlin Arrington, 4-year-old Jurnee Coleman, Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney, and Sgt. Dearborn, a city known for its large Arab and Muslim population, elects 31-year-old state lawmaker as next mayor. Find here information about the administration, demography, school and leisure. Name Arab Mayor Address 740 North Main Street Arab, Alabama, 35016 Phone 256-586-8128 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. And so because of that, were going to continue working within the community and the community can mature even more., This years elections, 20 years after 9/11, are more than Muslim and Arab American communities flexing their political muscle. [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. We did all of this with a purpose of arriving [at] a day like we are [at] today, he said. Still, the mayors seat in Dearborn is special, Stiffler said, not only because it is the top executive position in one of the states largest cities, but also because of the offices unsavoury history with racism. In comparison, the future salary is $75,000 less than the existing salary of Auburn City Manager Jim Buston, who earns $195,000. 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. READ MORE: Post-9/11 surveillance has left a generation of Muslim Americans in a shadow of distrust and fear. 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.. 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. Arab, Alabama. contracts on behalf of the City. Eddie Smith, council president and Ward 4 representative, said the ordinance to increase salaries for the mayor and council members - who serve part-time - in 2020 involved a lot of conversing and studying. So my counterpart in Auburn is Jim Buston.. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. This is a substantial enterprise, he said. The son of immigrants from Lebanon, Hammoud studied epidemiology and later earned a business degree at the University of Michigan. 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 City of Arab has a mission to foster and sustain a living environment that cultivates progressive awareness and the acceptance of diverse cultural differences, while maintaining a wholesome family atmosphere. Thats foundational to what Dearborn is, right? Islamophobia and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment will also impact some peoples perceptions of representatives of these communities, particularly considering the areas history. 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 . While he is hopeful to be re-elected, Fuller shared Smiths outlook that a higher mayors salary will be needed to attract future talent. But I think in winning, what you demonstrate, is that Abdullah is as American as any other name., Late media personality Russ Gibb introduces 2001 Dearborn mayoral candidate Abed Hammoud at a July 2001 fundraiser. 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. Dearborn Heights already has its first Muslim and Arab American mayor. 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. Taking the oaths were, above, from left, Councilman Scott Nixon, Councilman Preston Jacobs . If you raise it to $110,000, Ill give the difference between that and $52,000, after taxes, to local charities.. 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. 740 North Main Street. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. The increase was a large jump, Smith T said, but the mayor has many responsibilities in supervising the citys various functions. In the August primaries, Hammoud and Woronchak were the two highest vote-getters in a pool of seven candidates. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. It is a huge deal for the Arab community in Michigan and nationwide, Sally Howell, director of the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, told CNN. Many were drawn by work opportunities at Ford Motor Company in the 1920s. The City of Arab also hosts several events and festivals throughout the year such as the Poke Salat Festival and Community Fair. U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, estimates that 40 to 65 percent of homes in Dearborn were damaged in June floods, and Michigan Gov. Abdullah Hammoud, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan. In recent years, the Arab community has seen a steady increase in voter turnout and the rise of several local politicians, including Hammoud. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. He & wife Paula, both from Wichita, Kansas, celebrated their 56th year of marriage on December 22, 2018. . Hammoud said the history of racism in Dearborn weighs heavily on him and he has pledged to confront it, starting with building a diverse administration if elected. 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. Arab Map. And if you go back and do math and assume a 4 percent raise per year for 10 years, you would get to the same number., Smith added, It is our desire, in the future, to be able to attract quality people to be in a mayors position, and we think that in order to do that, you have to fairly compensate them.. And to get it, you had to volunteer.. If my mother was ever in need, I hope that a good neighbor would step up to help.. I just wanted a Hammoud for Mayor T-shirt. Nearby Hamtramck made national news in 2015 when it elected the first Muslim majority City Council in the country. However, Muslim and Arab American mayors will also have the opportunity to change the way their cities are perceived, and how their community is perceived within their neighborhood. On a part-time salary, Auburn Mayor Bill Ham makes $16,000. Mayor of Fairview: Keith A. Henry: Cullman County: Vital Records: Fairview vital records: . 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. How much does a Mayor make in Alabama? Arab-Americans across the country have been holding similar registration drives to mobilize political power over the years. [38] Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed suit against the city of Birmingham for violating the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act. Males had a median income of $32,425 versus $24,265 for females. [5] He ran unsuccessfully for the Birmingham Board of Education's District 3 seat in 2009, placing third in a four-person race. 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. executive director of Al Bawsala, a nonpartisan activist group. The Cullman County portion is in the Baileyton-Joppa Census Division.[18]. There have been numerous community-driven campaigns over the last few years to register Muslims to vote., READ MORE: I feel so helpless. Afghans in the U.S. worry for friends and family back home. Aug 4, 2021. He would go on to win and remain in office until his death in 2006. When Hammoud takes office early next year, he also will become the first Muslim and the first person of colour to lead the city of nearly 110,000 residents, one of the largest in the midwestern state of Michigan. The Mayor, is held publicly accountable for the performance of all City services. Will Anderson Jr., DE/OLB, Alabama. He also filed an executive order banning the ability for residents to protest in any public park. There were 3,693 housing units at an average density of 284.1 square miles (736km2). She said Hammouds election would be historic. Office Hours:Monday Friday7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Wichita to Kansas City, Missouri, then on to Cape Canaveral, Florida, then to Washington, D.C. for a short stint, and finally to Huntsville in 1968, where they resided until the family moved to Arab in 1992.