Hamtramck Mayor Talks Reelection, Representing Increasingly Diverse City
“That kind of diverse community welcoming people from all over has always been part of who we are as a city.”
A sign welcoming guests to the city of Hamtramck.
One of the more interesting elections outside the city of Detroit on Tuesday was in the enclave of Hamtramck, where incumbent Mayor Karen Majewski faced a challenge from City Councilman Mohammed Hassan.
It was billed as a potentially historic election in a city that has never had a mayor who is not of Polish descent. Hassan is an immigrant from Bangladesh. It was seen as a test of social change in Hamtramck, which has seen a dramatic shift in demographics in recent years.
But Majewski won reelection with 61 percent of the vote.
She joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the race and how she views her role as mayor in a city in transition.
“We’ve always been a diverse city with people from all over the world,” says Majewski. “That kind of diverse community welcoming people from all over has always been part of who we are as a city, a part of our identity.”
“No one group dominates, demographically, the city anymore,” she continues. “And so, in order to gain political office, one has to build political coalitions.”
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
