Recreation tax renewal OK’d by voters

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck’s recreation tax renewal easily coasted to voter approval for another 10 years.
On Tuesday, election day, Hamtramck voters approved renewing the tax despite an anti-tax effort to defeat it.
The renewal was approved 1,610 to 1,221 – or 57% to 43% — a 14-point margin of victory. The renewal campaign got a huge push by Hamtramck Public School teachers who had fanned out in the city in the days leading up to the election to campaign door-to-door for its passage.
The recreation department is part of the school district.
The recreation tax was the only local issue on Hamtramck’s ballot. There were no local offices for voters to consider.
No other unofficial Hamtramck election results were released by press time on Thursday. The delay – even through Wayne County which normally posts results — was not explained.
In previous elections, the city clerk’s office released the unofficial vote tally on election night.
In another closely watched election, besides the recreation tax proposal, state voters supporting U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed were successful in making him the state’s Democratic challenger to square off with Republican candidate Mike Rogers, according to media reports.
Rogers ran unopposed in Tuesday’s primary election
El-Sayed beat his Democratic opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, by a small percentage point, but apparently Stevens is not going to seek a recount of ballots.
El-Sayed, an Arab Muslim, likely had wide support in Hamtramck considering the city’s sizeable Muslim population.
He and Stevens had been polling neck-to-neck during the campaign season and through the election night as the race tightened up.
What’s remarkable about El-Sayed’s victory is that he overpowered Stevens’ massive financial support from the pro-Israel political action committee, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who put up about $40 million or more.
In comparison, El-Sayed spent about $7 million on his campaign, according to candidate expense records.
Stevens had been asked repeatedly by observers and media outlets about that AIPAC support but in a number of instances she dodged the issue, in some cases simply walking away.
Rogers, who is a Trump supporter, did not face a challenger in the primary election. His team has been confident that they can beat El-Sayed come this November.
To the surprise of no one, Rogers is hammering away at El-Sayed’s Arabic name and his Muslim religion. He has also resorted to what’s becoming a common smear used by Republicans against progressive candidates by calling him a “communist.”
Also to the surprise of some – and in some cases welcome surprise — incumbent Congressman Shri Thanedar also lost to a progressive Democratic candidate, Donavan McKinney. Thanedar was heavily criticized for accepting money from AIPAC.
It’s not publicly known yet whether Hamtramck voters continued to support him, but it was expected that the city’s Bengali community would stand beside him since he is an Indian immigrant.
State Sen. Tonya Phillips easily coasted to victory, all but ensuring she will win the general election in November since the district she represents votes heavily Democratic.
But again, it was not known yet whether Hamtramck voters continued to support her since there was a Bangladeshi-American candidate, Seema Ahmad, on the ballot.
Ahmad was endorsed by the Bangladeshi American Public Affairs Committee (BAPAC) and both former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.
With state Sen. Stephanie Chang being termed out, her seat was open. As it turned out, the old political chestnut that name recognition is worth its weight in gold came true for John Conyers III, the son of former Congressman John Conyers Jr., who was a fixture in Detroit-area political circles for decades.
Since the district is heavily Democratic, it’s likely Conyers will go on to serve in Lansing.
Hamtramck’s own Abraham Aiyash, a Democrat, had moved out of the city to run for a state senate seat downriver. Unfortunately for him, the gambit didn’t pay off. He came in second to Justin Onwenu, 59% to 41%.
His loss begs the question: Would it have been more advantageous for Aiyash to remain in Hamtramck and seek the state senator seat that Sen. Chang held?
The Review reached out to Aiyash and asked him this but he did not reply.
This election was also a test for newly-hired Hamtramck City Clerk Sami Elhady, who was hired by the city council despite his lack of experience as a city clerk.
On hand were state election workers to help oversee the election because of Elhady’s inexperience.
Federal monitors from the Department of Justice were also in town, although their role was not clear. At the direction of President Trump’s administration, DOJ monitors were also sent to Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing.
Some political observers say this was a test run by the DOJ for what they fear will be an attempt by the Trump administration to rig the November election to make sure Democrats are not elected.
Trump has already attacked the election results in Wayne County, saying, in a social media post, that the county is “one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States” and that it’s a “Third World.”
In other developments on election day, it was reported that the ballot machines had broke down for part of the day at Precinct 1, located in the public housing project’s administrative office, leaving some voters waiting in line outside the office.
Voting eventually continued. The cause of the delay was not immediately known.
Local and national media reported on the election in Hamtramck, and the city was the focus of discussion on the cable news network MS NOW.
The day began overcast but sunny skies appeared by 9 a.m., with temperatures in the 80s. The number of Hamtramck voters who participated was not immediately released.
Posted Aug. 7, 2026