Abdullah Hammoud, the First Arab American Muslim to Become Dearborn’s Mayor

"To the young girls and boys who have been ridiculed for their faith or ethnicity, to those of you who were ever made to feel that their names are unwelcome. To our parents 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, and there is a new era in Dearborn,” Hammoud told an audience of hundreds celebrating his victory.

Abdullah Hammoud was elected today as Dearborn's first Arab Muslim American Mayor. The 31-year-old has defeated the city’s former mayor elected since 2007 Gary Woronchak.

Hammoud the state House lawmaker has become today the seventh leader of Dearborn, the city of nearly 110,000 residents and Michigan's seventh largest city and the headquarters of Ford Motor Co.

The results of the city of Dearborn were announced by the Local American newspaper Detroit Free Press “Hammoud received 55% of the vote to Woronchak's 45%, according to City Clerk's unofficial results early Wednesday morning. About 47% of the Wayne County community's residents identify as Arab and 29.1% are foreign-born, according to the U.S. census.”

"Dearborn, we won! Our residents spoke out. We want change and bold leadership to meet the challenges our city faces," Hammoud tweeted.

 

Uprising and Early Life

Hammoud is the second of five children of Arab parents who immigrated to Dearborn decades ago. Hammoud was educated in Dearborn public schools, starting with MacDonald Elementary School, Dorth Prep and Fordson High School, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan Dearborn, and a Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

He said in an interview with a local American newspaper that when he worked for three years as a healthcare consultant in Michigan, he felt a strong need to serve the international community, which prompted him to work as a volunteer for the United Nations Relief Agency in Jordan.

The young politician worked as a healthcare professional for Henry Ford Health System and Health Alliance Plan.

In 2016, Hammoud won the elections as Dearborn presentative in the state House. Then, He was reelected in 2018 and 2020. His elections were seen as a big victory for the city's growing Arab American community, which today is 47% of the city. 

 

Struggling Working-Class Family

Hammoud was born in Dearborn to Lebanese immigrants who struggled economically when they first arrived, but hustled long hours to raise their family of five children. 

His memories of his working-class upbringing and a family tragedy motivate him today as an elected official and in his run for mayor. 

"Growing up, we lived in 12 different homes by the age of 14," Hammoud told the Free Press. "It's a working-poor story. It's not unique just to the immigrant story, I think it's a story that many people feel if you have a working-poor family."

Hammoud's mother, Ghada Hammoud, arrived in the U.S. in 1974 at the age of 4, her family escaping civil strife in Lebanon. His dad came in the early 1980s after part of his family in Lebanon had moved to Saudi Arabia for jobs in the concrete industry. 

The new elected mayor confirmed that he visited Lebanon once in 2007. He said: “I wanted to get to know my grandfather and grandmother, who were then living in the southern suburbs, specifically in Haret Hreik, so I stayed with my relatives in Tibnin for about a week before returning to America. Visiting my homeland, despite my grandfather's death in 2010 and my grandmother's travel to the United States.”

 

The Mayor Priorities 

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Hammoud explained : “I’m running to be Dearborn’s next mayor because we need someone who fights for working families and keeps them here. My administration will make it a priority to lower our property taxes and enhance our city services, to protect our community from reckless drivers, and make strategic investments to combat the effects of flooding and climate change in our neighborhoods. I will bring bold and trusted leadership to the mayor’s office, and we are the only campaign with a real vision and plans for our city.”

Hammoud said also that, “Dearborn needs a leader who can bring about change and represent our community well, and I hope to be that leader.” 

He adds that, throughout his life, he has never faltered in his unwavering commitment to Dearborn and serving the community to which he belongs as a volunteer, advocate for the rights of community members and a community activist. He stressed that running here is a way for him to continue serving the community in which he grew up and encouraging him to achieve success.

 

Honorable Positions

In 2020, After Beirut’s explosion, the young MP asked for help for Lebanon from the state assembly.

The deputies accepted the initiative, and he announced through his Facebook account: “This week, the Michigan House of Representatives unanimously adopted our resolution urging more federal humanitarian aid for the victims of the Beirut explosion. Humbly I led this initiative and gathered more than 80 Democratic and Republican participants.”

He added, "We pray for our family and friends in Lebanon, Amen, that they rebuild stronger and more beautiful than ever."

In 2018, Abdullah Hammoud, has announced that he has introduced a bill urging aid to be provided to war-torn Yemen and to help civilians rebuild their lives.

The resolution calls for condemning the fighting and war crimes, and acknowledging the suffering of the Yemeni people and their urgent need for humanitarian assistance.

It also calls for a system to assist Yemeni civilians who have fled to other countries to be able to enter the United States if they have immediate family members as US citizens.

He added: "This humanitarian crisis must end, and this decision demands the federal government to take action. Between fighting and famine, aid is a long-awaited necessity for Yemenis."