Mahmood on becoming mayor: ‘Let’s work together’

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck’s new mayor, Muhith Mahmood, is calling for a healing of the city after a legal wrangling over whether he is truly a resident of the city
Today, Friday, Oct. 30, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen McCarthy ruled in favor of Muhith Mahmood, calling evidence produced in court to prove he’s a non-resident was “scant, at best.”
The residency challenge was made by Adam Alharbi, who is now no longer mayor of the city.
Mahmood told The Review that he hopes the community can move forward to “make the city livable for all of us. … Justice has been served, and we need to drive in a good direction. Let’s work together.”
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen M. McCarthy also called for a community healing.
“For the sake of its residents, the fighting needs to stop so that Hamtramck can heal and move forward,” McCarthy said in her ruling on the residency issue
Mahmood will be the first Bangladeshi-American to hold the office as mayor.
The Review reached out to Alharbi for comment but he has not yet responded.
News of the court’s ruling on Friday traveled fast in social media. The reaction, so far, is one of frustration over the city’s ongoing political turmoil.
“So much money and time wasted on these clowns,” said Carol Raczkowski.
There will be one more challenge for Mahmood to face. Alharbi says he will call for a recount of the 37 previously uncounted ballots that resulted in Mahmood defeating Alharbi in last year’s November election.
Alharbi has said that some of the 37 ballots were altered or forged.
Mahmood beat Alharbi by 12 votes.
Those 37 ballots were the first legal hurdle for Mahmood’s road to eventual victory.
The ballots in question were discovered a day after last November’s election, and were initially not included in the election tally.
The county board of canvassers split in a 2-2 decision on whether to count the ballots last year, which automatically meant the ballots could not be counted.
Alharbi argued that ballots should not be counted because they lost the “chain of custody” by being discovered a day later. Mahmood successfully argued that not counting the ballots would disenfranchise those voters.
Mahmood won’t officially become mayor until the Wayne County Board of Canvassers certify the election, which will be done after next Tuesday’s election.
Alharbi in the meantime got a bare majority of city councilmembers to agree for the city to pay his legal bills in the dispute with Mahmood.
The council agreed to pay the legal fees despite Alharbi’s legal fight was not done in the capacity as mayor. However, Alharbi has insisted that he was acting officially as mayor even though the legal fight began before Alharbi officially became mayor.
So far, that billed has exceeded $200,000 for taxpayers, according to invoices The Review received through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Mahmood has said he will not ask for the city to pay for his legal fees.
Now that the matter has been settled and Alharbi is no longer the mayor, former city councilmember Phillip Kwik wondered, on social media, how much longer the city will be on the hook for Alharbi’s legal bills.
“This should mean that we don’t have to pay for Alharbi’s lawsuit anymore, right? When do I get my rebate check on my taxes?” Kwik said.
Posted Oct. 30, 2026