Mayor and councilman face ethics charges

By Charles Sercombe
It appears that city councilmembers have moved on from simply censuring each other to now filing formal ethics complaints.
In the latest twist to the political division happening in the council, Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri has filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Adam Alharbi.
And, shortly after Alsomiri filed his complaint, Councilmember Yousuf Saed filed an ethics complaint against fellow councilmember Muhtasin Sadman.
Both councilmembers are using the same attorney, Mark Wasvary of Troy, who prepared their complaints.
In Councilmember Alsomiri’s complaint, he accuses Mayor Alharbi of orchestrating a voting maneuver to have council authorize taxpayers to pay his $200,000 legal bill.
The mayor racked up that bill in his personal fight to prevent 37 uncounted ballots from being counted in last November’s city election. In that election, he narrowly beat his opponent, former councilmember Muhith Mahmood, by 11 votes.
Mahmood has been seeking to get the ballots counted.
Also in Alsomiri’s complaint, he alleges the following ethics violations committed by the mayor:
• Using public office or employment for private gain – personal or monetary
• Giving improper preference to any person or organization
• Impeding government efficiency or impartiality of action
• Making a government decision outside of official channels; or
• Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the city
The accusations are cited as violations of the city’s ethics ordinance and, as such, do carry the possibility of prosecution.
Alsomiri further says “the motion to approve mayor’s legal fees was coerced to the floor with no citizens present and no recording.”
The vote to approve the matter came after a closed session, with the council then returning to an open session. The resolution to approve the legal fees was not on that night’s council meeting agenda, nor was it broadcast by the city clerk.
The resolution was allowed to be considered after the mayor refused “to advance an unrelated motion already on the floor until there was a separate motion regarding the legal fees…”
The motion to approve his legal fees was considered by just three councilmembers, with only two — Councilmembers Abu Musa and Yousuf Saed — voting in favor of the city covering Alharbi’s costs.
That vote was later determined to be invalid because the three participating councilmembers were one member short of a quorum, as required by city charter.
Mayor Alharbi dismissed the allegation as “baseless,” and questioned Alsomiri’s motives.
Alharbi said the matter has more to do with another motion that was approved in that meeting regarding the sale of properties on Conant, one of which was the former Kabob House restaurant building.
“While I personally believed the property should have gone to public auction, the majority of the city council voted again to set a price and return it to the owner,” Alharbi told The Review.
“Councilman Alsomiri’s complaint is driven by his own personal interest in this property — plain and simple. If we want to discuss ethics and transparency, I haven’t just filed administrative complaints, I’ve taken direct legal action to enforce accountability.
“Open Meetings Act violations have occurred far too often among council members. If I filed a complaint every time a procedural line was crossed during meetings, I’d be filing them after almost every single session. My focus remains on serving the residents of Hamtramck, not entertaining political distractions.”
The motion approving the sale of the former Kabob House restaurant building is now the subject of an ethics complaint filed by Councilmember Saed.
He is zeroing in on Councilmember Muhtasin Sadman, saying he voted in favor of selling the Conant properties back to the former owners because he is related to two of them.
The ethics violation, Saed alleges, is that one of the former owners is Sadman’s uncle and another is his brother-in-law. The names of the former owners were not listed.
The complaint says Sadman should have abstained in the vote, and volunteered that he is related to the two former owners.
Saed also said that the properties were sold for $100,000 — which, he says, is “far below market value.”
The complaint goes on to accuse Sadman of:
• Using public office or employment for private gain — personal or monetary
• Giving improper preference to any person or organization
• Impeding government efficiency or impartiality of action
• Making a government decision outside of official channels; or
• Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the city
The Review reached out to Sadman for a comment, via his Facebook messenger, but he did not respond.
Posted Aug. 21, 2026