In an unexpected twist for Dearborn politics, the city will forego its August primary election due to an insufficient number of candidates. According to the Detroit Free Press, City Clerk George Darany confirmed the absence of a primary, citing that the races for mayor, city clerk, and the seven-member City Council attracted too few participants to warrant the initial electoral round.
Explaining the situation, Darany stated, "There would have needed to be more than two candidates for mayor, two for clerk and 14 for city council for a primary election to be held." In a statement detailed by ClickOnDetroit, he expressed his surprise, noting the historically robust engagement of residents in seeking city office. The city's charter and Michigan election law stipulate the threshold for a primary election, which this electoral cycle failed to meet, despite initial broader interest with four individuals filing for the mayoral race and 16 for the council positions.
However, not all who sought to run were successful in getting onto the ballot. According to the Detroit Free Press, two mayoral candidates were disqualified for various reasons, one due to felony convictions, and another had their injunction request to get on the ballot denied by Wayne County’s Chief Judge. On the council side of the slate, several disqualifications and a withdrawal occurred, which reduced the field, resulting in the historic absence of a primary.
Among those affected by candidacy issues was Leslie Herrick, the only woman on Dearborn’s City Council, who failed to secure a spot on the ballot over an outstanding fee from her 2017 campaign. "Despite believing that this was resolved long ago, it was recently brought to my attention that the fee was still outstanding," Herrick told the Detroit Free Press, as she now considers a potential write-in campaign. Reflecting on the low turnout of candidates, Darany harkened back to decades when city council primaries typically featured about 30 hopefuls, a stark contrast to today’s lean list.
