The state has long been at the heart of Arab American political power. 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. Arab is located at an elevation of 1,100 feet (340m) on top of Brindlee Mountain, near the southwest end of the Appalachian Plateau. Privacy Policy In 1960, it was changed to the Arab Census Division as part of a general reorganization of counties. Arab (/e.rb/) is a city in Marshall and Cullman counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, located 10 miles (16km) from Guntersville Lake and Guntersville Dam, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Being perceived as good neighbors has been an exercise in patience for Muslims and Arab Americans in these suburbs. According to the Detroit Free Press, incumbent mayor Karen Majewski, who was elected as Hamtramcks first woman mayor in 2006, received 27 percent of the vote in the Aug. 3 primary, coming in second to Amer Ghalib who received 37 percent of the vote in a four person field. 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. Hammoud calls himself a pragmatic progressive. Private Schools, Homeland Infrastructure Foundation. who was arab alabama first mayor. Hammoud says he is ready to get to work and immediately begin tackling issues that affect his city, including climate change. 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. The symbolic capital of Arab America, Dearborn, Michigan, finally has an Arab American mayor to speak on behalf of this unique population. And as recently as 1985, mayoral candidate Michael Guido, who won the election that year, released a campaign flyer addressing what he called the Arab problem. [21], Woodfin's administration has drawn criticism for a perceived lack of transparency, with AL.com columnist Kyle Whitmire calling Woodfin's attempts to block public information requests "stalling and stonewalling" and a violation of his campaign promises to increase transparency. [26] After a lengthy search, Woodfin appointed former Los Angeles Police Department commander Patrick D. Smith to the position. Hammouds victory holds national significance, local experts have said, as it illustrates that Arab-American communities, through increased political participation, can decisively influence election outcomes and elect their own representatives to work on issues that matter to them. NFL draft big board: Best players available heading into second round Look at the Books: A Q&A With Birmingham's Next Mayor", "A Work in Progress: Woodfin Assesses His First 100 Days", "A Hole in the Balance Sheet: Birmingham's Impending Pension Crisis", "Woodfin Highlights "Moral Obligations" of Proposed 2020 Budget", "Whitmire: What's Randall Woodfin hiding? 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. Never shy away from who you are, he said. He is the first Arab to embark on a long-duration space mission. 28.2% of households were one person and 13.7% were one person aged 65 or older. ET to upgrade the space station's power . The city of Arab was founded by Stephen Tuttle Thompson and was originally known as Thompson's Village. get driving directions from your location, Boards, Commissions, and Advisory Committees. Michigan is home to dozens of Arab American local officials, including judges, mayors and city council members often outside of areas with a large Arab presence. The first Muslim and Arab American mayor elected in the U.S. was Abdul Al Haidous, a Lebanese American immigrant and small business owner, elected November 2001 in the small town of Wayne 20 minutes west of Dearborn. WATCH: Bostons changing demographics on display in mayoral race dominated by women of color. [31] Additionally, 2020 resulted in the highest murder rate in Birmingham, Alabama in 25 years.[32]. 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. Howell, among other experts, said she estimated that well more than half of Dearborns population is of Arab descent, a fact not reflected by the US Census, which counts the Arab population as white, leading to undercounting. In our form of government, the mayor is the chief executive officer and the chief operating officer for the city, Fuller explained. He served for 16 years as Mayor Pro Temp. 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. [24], Birmingham's high violent crime rate was a central plank of Woodfin's campaign platform; his nephew, Ralph Woodfin III, was shot and killed in August 2017, just weeks before the general election. Arab City Hall. We finally have Arab Americans speaking for themselves, being elected to office, representing their communities, gaining recognition for this population, gaining a voice for them, said Sally Howell, director of the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Office Hours: Monday Friday 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. The increase represents a compounded 4 percent annual jump within a 12-year range, which totals $115,274.32. Originally, the name proposed was Arad. Bill Bazzy, an immigrant from Lebanon, an engineer, retired U.S. Marine, and former City Councilperson was appointed mayor in January 2021 after the previous mayor, Dan Paletko, died in December 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19. [25], Shortly after Woodfin took office in November 2017, Birmingham Police Department Chief A.C. Roper announced his resignation. Emirati astronaut becomes first Arab to perform spacewalk outside Office of the Mayor - Arab City, Alabama | Government Although he only accepts a portion of it, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson makes $89,000, while Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks makes less than Fuller, at $65,000. Mayor Paul South - City of Jackson Alabama Cherokee Ridge Mayor and Town Council sworn in Abed Hammoud, a former federal and state prosecutor, told the NewsHour that he believes the Arab American community has matured a lot politically in the last two decades since co-founding AAPAC. At the 2010 census there were 8,050 people in 3,359 households, including 2,257 families, in the city. He is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham class of 2014, Leadership Alabama class of 2016, and was a featured speaker at TEDx Birmingham 2017. I think going [in] smaller increments, I think people can accept that a little better than just jumping from one extreme, you know, to the next, she said. A Warner Bros. Is Dearborn for $ale, read a banner on Woronchacks campaign website, alleging donations came from outside the state. 29.6% of households were one person and 14.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The first post office was established in 1882, and Thompson became the postmaster in 1892. 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 can cancel at any time. Haidous was elected in . We have to immediately start adjusting the climate crisis by putting forth bold and innovative proposals, he said. 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. Opinion | All politics is local. All of Alabama's mayors races this year Their fire department has one station, sitting on top of Marshall County 911 center. Dearborn Heights already has its first Muslim and Arab American mayor. He also filed an executive order banning the ability for residents to protest in any public park. 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. If it goes in a way that it looks like the Arab vote was very unified behind a single candidate, I think its a force to reckon with, he told Al Jazeera. Office: (256) 586-8128. 2. 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. He attends Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham. Arab has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. READ MORE: Post-9/11 surveillance has left a generation of Muslim Americans in a shadow of distrust and fear. 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. There was a person by the name of Abed Hammoud running for mayor, Rep. Hammoud (no relation) told the PBS NewsHour. Hammoud is completing his third two-year term in the Michigan House of Representatives, to which he was elected when he was 25. Lets talk about the Arab problem, read a campaign flyer for mayoral candidate Michael Guido in 1985. In Anderson's three years at the collegiate level, no one matched his dominance on a down-to-down basis. He is a Democrat, but mayoral candidates appear on the ballot without a party label. The Office of Mayor is a part-time position. Blog Inizio Senza categoria who was arab alabama first mayor. 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. Are you an official in the Arab government or quasi-government agency such as the chamber of commerce, visitors bureau or economic development council? Hammoud, a 31-year-old state representative, beat former local official Gary Woronchak, winning 55 percent of the votes on Tuesday. 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. Bob Joslin is the first Mayor of Arab, who is not from Arab. I dont think it can be done any more frequently than every four years, because its got to apply to the next group of elected officials, Smith T said. Arab Americans constituted about 40 percent of the citys population, according to the 2010 Census. 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. "Proud of our past embracing the future", Location in Marshall and Cullman counties, Alabama, This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties, Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Arab, Alabama, "Arab city, Alabama: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)", "Cullman's 'sundown town' image worthy of study", "KKK propaganda found in Arab for the second time in months", "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/06229686v1-7ch01.pdf, http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/37721510v1p2ch2.pdf, http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-1-2.pdf, "Marshall County's Liles Burke Now a Federal Judge", "Mary Hollis' friends invited to memorial service Sunday", "Slain country musician Wayne Mills' funeral in Arab will be live-streamed online Sunday afternoon", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arab,_Alabama&oldid=1152559619, Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area, Populated places established in the 1840s, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 23:58. In 2018, Egyptian American doctor, Abdul El-Sayed made national headlines when he mounted a serious campaign for governor with support from Sanders.