Arab-Americans make up a majority of Dearborn, Michigan's city council for first time
Dearborn -- When Susan Dabaja ran for the Dearborn City Council this year, the attorney spent many hours canvassing neighborhoods throughout the suburb, meeting residents from diverse backgrounds.
That experience guided Dabaja, who earned more votes than any other council candidate in Tuesday's election. Now, not only is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants set to become the council's first Muslim and Arab-American president, as well as its second female leader, she has also helped push its representation to majority Arab-American for the first time.
But milestones aside, Dabaja said she remains as focused on the city's entire population as she was while campaigning. "I'm really there to serve every resident of Dearborn, regardless of background," she said Wednesday. "We are one Dearborn, and that's the idea that I have moving forward -- and that we should all have."
Dabaja and Mike Sareini, a sales representative and attorney, are the two newest Arab-Americans elected to the council. They join Robert Abraham and David Bazzy, who retained their seats on the seven-member panel.
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