This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

First time Dearborn Voter

I moved to Dearborn just about 3 years ago from Ohio.  I'm a registered voter in Dearborn.  Although I've only lived here a few years, I believe it's a great community - much better than a lot of cities in this region.  I'm voting in this upcoming election.   For the most part I believe the current mayor, city council members, city clerk etc. are doing a good job.  But there's some openings in city council so I have to make some decisions.  As my neighborhood is inundated with campaign signs - I see quite a few signs for candidates Baydoun, Dabaja, Melton, and Sareini. I've googled most of the aforementioned candidates and I have some concerns...  Has Mike Sareini done anything for the city other than riding on his mother's name?  What's the deal with Baydoun? There's many articles about legal issues associated with the Metro Property Group? Then his major campaign mantra is to get rid of paid parking.  Which if Dearborn gets rid of paid parking, where will we come up with the money that it's taking in?  And are Dearborn residents actually paying the majority of parking or visitors? I have to believe the larger portion of paid parking is paid by people visiting Dearborn or working in Dearborn as opposed to residents. Then what is Melton's qualifications?  Did he graduate from Michigan or attend a class or a football game?  Isn't he a Wayne County political appointee?  Does that make him a good candidate for Dearborn City Council?  With so many issues about Wayne County's Political  appointees - I'm concerned.
What's more interesting is that Patrick Melton is the chairman of the Wayne County Pension fund - which has been rated as the worst in the country.  They lost more than $400 million over the last few years.  Look at the article in the Detroit News/Free Press just this week about how bad the fund has been run.  Is this the guy that we want making decisions on Dearborn's budget?  He claims that he's for safety and law enforcement in Dearborn - but what are his real qualifications?

So, I'm looking for answers.  And who would you vote for as your Dearborn city council?  And why?

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?