The group Dearborn Wants Wards has been pushing for districted elections in Dearborn. The measure is now officially on the ballot as Proposal 1 in the general election in November. 

Mona Mawari is a community organizer for the Dearborn Wants Wards.  She says the group had to go to court after submitting more than 8,000 signatures for the petition.  

“To ensure that the the proposal was going to be on the ballot in November, we had followed up with the city multiple times and weren’t getting a clear answer and a clear response.”

Mawari says Dearborn Wants Wards volunteers are campaigning door-to-door and organizing town halls and phone banks to spread the word about the measure. The group says districted elections would provide better representation for the city’s east and south sides.    

Additional headlines from Monday, August 22, 2025

 Neighborhood Business Lab 

ProsperUs Detroit and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services or ACCESS are hosting a Neighborhood Business Lab in October. The team will provide business insights to area residents.

The neighborhood lab takes place in two time slots: on October 1st from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. OR 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the ACCESS Hamtramck office, 9301 Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck.

Light refreshments will be provided. 

Dearborn’s Esper Library to be Children’s Exploration and STEAM center 

Dearborn is creating a state-of-the-art children’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics or STEAM Center. It will be located at the city’s Esper Library at 12929 Warren Avenue.

The library will offer robotics, music, art, and engineering activities. It will also include hands-on STEAM discovery zones, technology and a podcast studio. 

Construction began this past weekend. 

Detroit Fire Dept. Appoints Jamal Mickles as chief 

Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms, has appointed Captain Jamal Mickles as the Chief of the Detroit Fire Department Training Division.

Mickles has 20 years of experience. He began his work with the department through the DFD’s Fire Cadet Program. He was assigned to Engine 51, later serving at Engine 57, Ladder 14, Ladder 26 and the Fire Investigation Division, before becoming a fire instructor and training leader.

Mickles served as a Lieutenant at the academy, overseeing the firefight apprenticeship program which gives Detroiters a pathway to a career in public safety. He also rebuilt the Regional Training Center gym which was used to train more than 200 firefighters across Michigan. Last year as captain, Mickles launched the DFD Paramedic Training Program to train firefighters to deliver advanced pre-hospital medical care. 

He is replacing Chief Alfie Green, who retired after 34 years with the Detroit Fire Department. 

If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org. 

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The day before Detroit’s primary election, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey told The Metro “less than five” polling places in the city have accessibility problems — and that her legal obligation includes ensuring entrances and voting machines are accessible.

This week, nonprofit advocacy organization Detroit Disability Power pushed back. The group disputed Winfrey’s claims, pointing to its 2025 survey of 167 polling locations. The findings, they say, reveal widespread barriers and raise serious concerns about Detroit polling place accessibility ahead of the November election. The audit of this year’s primary found that half of the surveyed polling locations had accessibility issues with entrances and doorways, and 70% had problems with Voter Access Terminals (VAT).

Eric Welsby, the policy director for Detroit Disability Power, joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to dispute Winfrey’s claims. He explained the persistent barriers for people with disabilities at Detroit polling locations and how this issue is not unique to Detroit.

Documented problems persist

During the 2021 election, disability advocates filed an ADA complaint saying key voting information, like where and how to vote, was inaccessible online for users of screen readers, affecting thousands of Detroiters. And, some polling locations across metro Detroit remain inaccessible to voters with disabilities.

The Metro contacted Clerk Winfrey’s office for comment, but received no response.

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Registered voters not casting a vote is a problem in the city, one that seems to be bigger here than in other Midwest cities. 

In Central Ohio’s Franklin County, the 2024 presidential election turnout was 66%. In Milwaukee, it was 85%. In Chicago, it was about 68% — and that’s the lowest it’s been in 80 years. But in Detroit, during the same election year, it was just 47%. 

Mara Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice and a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to share insights into why some Detroit residents don’t vote, and how to increase voter turnout. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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