Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud talks Biden, community and staying humble in the Roundabout

DEARBORN, Mich (FOX 2) - Abdullah Hammoud became Dearborn's first Arab American mayor when he was elected in 2021.

Hammoud, despite being just 31 when he took office, was already a political veteran having served as a state representative. Now two years into office, Hammoud joined FOX 2's Brandon Hudson for the latest Roundabout.

Brandon:  "I remember last time we had a conversation a couple of years ago where you sat down is right after you got elected mayor, how have you grown in the two years since you've been elected?"

Mayor Hammoud: "There's no, you know, there's no graph I can provide you that demonstrates just like a learning curve that comes with such an enormous responsibility. But at the same time, when I assumed the mayorship, I also became a father in that month, and I think that has honestly been the biggest blessing for this journey, is because when you become a father and you're raising a family, you have a whole new outlook on life, and you have additional responsibility."

Brandon: "Wife and kids keep you grounded?"

Mayor Hammoud: "They absolutely do, they do not care for any title (laughs)."

Brandon: "Did you ever think that when you were first elected that you would be in a position where you're not only talking about Dearborn statewide, but to nationally as well?"

Mayor Hammoud: "Never in a million years, I think for me, you know, I ran on issues that impacted our residents on a day-to-day. You know, making sure your garbage is picked up on time, talking about stormwater infrastructure and how we can prevent flooding moving forward. But the reality is, when you have a conflict overseas that's impacting your residents directly. They're losing family and friends on a daily basis.

"When the war is eroding the trust that your residents have in government because of the decisions that are being made, it would be irresponsible to walk away and to not elevate the voices of your constituents. So yes, we have to talk about what's unfolding across because it impacts my residents each and every single day here."

Brandon: "What kind of messages of hope do you give people? Because I know that this war has taken a toll emotionally."

Mayor Hammoud: "The hope is in people. You know, you see people protesting, rallying, coming together all across the globe, and poll after poll tells you that the majority of Americans want the war to end."

Brandon: "I know you use your platform once this war started back in October, to really call out people who you know weren't necessarily sharing the viewpoint that you wanted people to know about."

Mayor Hammoud: "Yeah, you know, I take, I take my messages and my cues from the community. The number one message I want to send is that personally, myself and here in the city of Dearborn -  people come first. People come before any political party affiliation. People come first before any presidential allyship or fellowship that you have or commitment that you might have because of a party you're affiliated with.

Brandon: "President Biden's sense of his aides here to have a conversation with you all, and you said, I'm going to sit this one out. What went what went into that decision?"

Mayor Hammoud: "At the time they sent, the President decided to send over a campaign manager, and that would be the first interaction that we have with any individual affiliated with the presidency. And from my perspective, what was unfolding, and as you know, thousands of miles away, wasn't an issue that related to electoral politics. This was a humanitarian crisis. This was a genocide, and we wanted to impact policy.

"And so it was, you know, almost immediately, once we got the invitation, that we knew we were going to decline this meeting. Because this was not going to help move our community forward. This is going to make this issue political. This is not a political issue. So we declined that meeting, and a month later, they sent over a team of senior policymakers and decision-makers. And I think that meeting was the meeting that we wanted to have initially, but as we see now, several months later, it's still yet to produce or bear any fruit."

Brandon: "You feel like your voices are still being heard?"

Mayor Hammoud: "You know, I can't really say so."

Brandon: "We're here at Fordson High School."

Mayor Hammoud: "The greatest high school in all the land."

Brandon: "What was Abdullah, the high school student, like?"

Mayor Hammoud: "Very, very, very small stature. I was on the wrestling team. I wrestled weight class, 103 but I weighed in around 86 pounds. I got a picture of me and my singlet."

Brandon: "Wait a minute, you were 86 pounds and you wrestled at 103?"

Mayor Hammoud: "There wasn't a weight class smaller than 103."

Brandon: "How have the experiences you had growing up helped you to be a better mayor, husband, father that you are now?"

Mayor Hammoud: "You know, many people ask, you know, what books or policy books are you reading to implement the policies today as mayor, and I say honestly, it's life experience. You know, as somebody who grew up on the second oldest of five children to two immigrant parents, you know, we never had the means of being able to afford a pool pass for all the children to go to the community pool each and every single day. So one of the first things I did in the first summer, we made pools free for all children 13 and under.

"There was one home that we spent most of the years on Appoline Street - this one, the brown one. Whenever I think of my upbringing, this is the house that I think of. And in this city, you know, again, when I'm out in the public, I don't really care to be called mayor. Many of the citizens don't. They refer to me as either, oh, you know the husband to Fatima, people know my wife, or the son of my father and my mother, or the nephew of my uncle, who's a local preacher here in the city. And so for me, it's that mindset of staying humble."