The needs of Hamtramck should come first

We understand that there moral issues that people get passionate about and take a stand on them. Occasionally elected leaders pass resolutions denouncing or supporting events happening in the nation and the world.
Recently, the mayor and city council took such a stance on the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the ongoing civilian deaths of innocent Palestinians.
They are demanding not only an immediate ceasefire, which is a resolution passed several weeks ago, but also recently passed a resolution calling for the city to divest and boycott Israel.
That’s a first for any city in this state.
They have also criticized U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) for his support of U.S. military aid being sent to Israel.
That’s all fine and good, but their criticism of Thanedar, as Mayor Amer Ghalib admitted, came at a steep price. The city is accusing Thanedar of reneging on his support of two federal grants that would have financed the continuation of replacing lead water lines to households and also a grant to improve alleys.
Those grants, the city said, were not only promised but worth millions of dollars.

We don’t fault our elected leaders for throwing their support for this or that politician.
But at what cost?
We are posing this question as a way to urge caution on how far elected officials should go here.
Did we elect the mayor and city council to get involved in world affairs, or to keep their focus squarely on the needs of Hamtramck first and foremost?
We know people can do both things, but when Hamtramck loses substantial grants we ask our elected officials to think twice.
On the other hand, if this is true that Thanedar decided to spank Hamtramck for not getting political support in his re-election effort this year, shame on him as well.
Thanedar says Hamtramck was skipped over because there were worthier projects in other communities that his congressional district represents – which obviously includes Hamtramck.
The reality is, politics can be extremely petty in many ways.
We bring this up only as a reminder to our elected leaders to make it a priority to focus on the needs of Hamtramck.
Posted June 14, 2024