Election Officials Reject Petition To Recall Dearborn Heights Mayor

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI — A petition to recall Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi was thrown out Tuesday by the Wayne County Election Commission.

Zouhair Abdel-Hak, who's running for a Dearborn Heights city council seat, filed the petition claiming Bazzi violated the Public Act 78 of 1935 as he hired two new high-level director positions within the city's police department earlier this year.

Officials unanimously rejected the petition, saying they couldn't determine which part of the public act Bazzi violated, a lack of clarity, in other words.

"I am grateful to the members of the Wayne County Elections Commission for their swift decision to reject this frivolous recall petition – the first step in putting this nonsense behind us so we can fully focus our efforts on serving the residents and businesses of our community," Bazzi said.

"While we're making great progress, this recall effort is a reminder of the importance of maintaining our focus on better serving our community," he added. "It is also a stark warning of the dangers associated with giving clandestine political operatives a megaphone that drowns out the collective desires and voices of those we serve."

Abdel-Hak told Patch he plans to appeal the ruling.

The election commission also rejected five other recall petitions, including one targeting Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Romulus School Board members Susan Evitts, Judy Kennard and Debi Pyles.