(Detroit Free Press) In a historic victory, a 31-year-old state legislator born to immigrants from Lebanon defeated a 66-year-old veteran politician to become the first mayor of Arab descent of Dearborn, a city long known for its sizable population with roots in the Middle East.
Taking the stage at a community center named after one of the founders of the Islamic Center of America, state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, declared: “There is a new era in Dearborn.”
Hammoud defeated Gary Woronchak, a former state representative and former Wayne County commissioner, with 54.6% of the vote to Woronchak’s 45.2%, according to results from the city of Dearborn.
Hammoud is also the city’s first Muslim to be elected mayor.
