Arab Americans Win Several Races in 2001 Elections

By Paula D. Thomson
Washington File Staff Writer

Arab Americans "full partners" in American democracy, says AAI President

Washington -- Arab Americans won several local seats in elections held across the United States November 6 despite incidents against Americans of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"Despite the difficult times in which we live, our American democracy continues and yesterday's elections are proof of that. Arab Americans are full partners at the table of American democracy and there is no better indication of that than the community members who ran competitive campaigns and mobilized voter turnout," said James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), in a November 7 press release.

According to the AAI release, Arab Americans were most visible in elections in Michigan, which has an Arab American population of over 300,000. In Wayne, Michigan, Al Haidous won the election for mayor with 54 percent of the vote, while in Southfield, Michigan, Nida Samona was reelected to the city council. In Dearborn, Michigan, where one-third of the town's population is of Arab descent, incumbent City Council member Suzanne Sareini held her seat in a very close race and will be joined on the council by challenger Bob Abraham, who also is of Middle Eastern descent.

Many of those who did not win election to office nonetheless ran close, competitive races. For example, in his first attempt at an elected office, Abed Hammoud received more than 5,000 votes for mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, against a popular incumbent. In Hamtramck, Michigan, Ahmed Shahab lost his bid for city council only by a margin of 55 votes. Mayor Kenneth Halaby of Trumball, Connecticut, narrowly lost reelection by 42 votes.

Other Arab American candidates who won victories include Sandy Annabi, elected to Yonkers City Council, New York; Jeanine Pirro, reelected as Westchester County District Attorney, New York; Mohamed Khairalah, elected to the Prospect Park City Council, New Jersey; Thomas Saadi and Emile Buzaid, reelected and elected, respectively, to the Danbury City Council in Connecticut; Mike Jarjura, elected Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut; and Timothy Bryan, who won reelection against five candidates for Massillon City Council in Ohio.

The candidacies of Arab Americans like Kamal Nawash, who vied for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, helped increase voter mobilization by reaching out to first-time Arab American voters. In the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, the Arab American Institute played an active role by organizing candidate forums to reach out to the Arab American voters.

In all, twenty-three Arab Americans competed for both state and local offices in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, Virginia, and Ohio.

For further details on Arab Americans in the 2001 elections, visit AAI's web site at http://www.aaiusa.org/.