In Our Opinion … Housing commission change makes no sense

We get it.
Every mayor has a right to fill out the various commission appointments as they see fit. Every mayor gets to define their own term in elected office.
But some commission appointments make no sense.
Take, for example, the recent firing of two longtime Hamtramck Housing Commission members with knowledge and training on how to govern public housing under a federal agency.
There is an immense amount of training that commission members are expected to undertake, and — at any time –they could face federal scrutiny, and even possible serious legal ramifications.
Frankly, considering that housing commission members are volunteers, it’s hard to believe anyone would accept such an appointment.
So it baffles us as to why Mayor Adam Alharbi replaced two experienced commission members with two new members with zero experience.
Even more curious is that the mayor replaced two female commission members with two males at a time when the city’s female population is already under-represented in what is fast becoming an all-male government.
Alharbi told The Review that he wanted fresh faces and fresh ideas. Fair enough, but considering that the Housing Commission, under local control, has been a consistent high achiever, which is no small thing, for over 10 years, it begs the question: But why?
We don’t question the integrity of the new commission members, and we’re sure they will serve with professionalism.
We just can’t understand why anyone would remove two highly qualified people in favor of some who have zero experience in housing.
Posted June 12, 2026