Over a cup of tea, south India holds climate talks parallel to COP26

CHICAGO: Hala Ayala on Tuesday misplaced her bid to grow to be the primary Arab-American lieutenant governor of the state of Virginia, in an election wave that seems to be the start of a political backlash towards President Joe Biden and the Democrats.

Ayala’s possibilities in Virginia appeared promising as a result of Biden had received the state within the November 2020 presidential election with a ten % lead over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

Ayala’s loss to former Republican state delegate Winsome Sears adopted the slim defeat of Virginia’s former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe to Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin.

McAuliffe had served as governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018, whereas Youngkin was chief monetary officer and later chief working officer of The Carlyle Group, a personal fairness agency based mostly in Washington D.C.

The Youngkin victory portends a possible Republican surge over Democrats in subsequent yr’s midterm elections for management of the US Home and Senate.

Regardless of the implications for Biden and the Democrats subsequent yr, Tuesday’s elections introduced a brand new daybreak for Arab Individuals in no less than one metropolis with a historical past of anti-Arab sentiment.

Abdullah Hammoud, a Michigan state legislator since 2017, was elected as the primary Arab-American mayor of the town of Dearborn. Greater than 60 % of the town’s 110,000 inhabitants are of Arab heritage.

It was a dramatic turnaround from 1985, when Michael Guido warned voters of an “Arab drawback” earlier than successful the mayor’s workplace. Guido later befriended Arab Individuals.

He was succeeded as mayor in 2007 by John B. O’Reilly Jr., who this yr introduced his retirement for well being causes.

Hammoud tweeted: “I’m honored & humbled by right this moment’s assist. Our residents spoke loudly — we wish change & daring management to deal with the challenges our metropolis faces.”

He added: “We dwell within the biggest metropolis in America and I’m enthusiastic about what we will obtain collectively. Let’s get to work!”

There have been 14 candidates competing for seven seats on Dearborn’s Metropolis Council. A number of Individuals of Lebanese heritage received council seats, in response to the newest Dearborn election fee returns: Michael T. Sareini, Kamal Al-Sawafy, Robert Abraham and Mustapha Hammoud.

Not as lucky had been three Yemeni Individuals who entered the race: Sam Luqman, Saeid Al-Awathi, and Khalil Othman.

Dearborn’s Yemeni-American neighborhood has grown considerably over the previous decade and is combating for illustration.

Final yr, author Adel Mozip grew to become the primary Yemeni American to be elected to a seat on the Dearborn College Board.

In neighboring Dearborn Heights, Mayor Daniel Paletko died from COVID-19, making a emptiness and election battle for 2 positions: Filling his remaining time period in workplace, which ends on Dec. 31, and to serve a full mayoral time period starting in January.

Lebanese immigrant and former US Marine Invoice Bazzi, a Dearborn Heights Metropolis Council member since 2018, was chosen by his colleagues to function interim mayor following Paletko’s loss of life.

He confronted off towards Metropolis Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell and Anthony Camilleri, and simply received each the completion of Paletko’s time period and the brand new four-year time period as mayor.

Along with Bazzi, three of the seven Dearborn Heights Metropolis Council members are Lebanese American and Muslim. Dearborn Heights is 32 % Arab American, in response to 2019 census knowledge.

In Boston, the place the mayor’s workplace has been held by a person since 1630, two ladies — Annissa Eassaibi George and Michelle Wu — battled to grow to be the town’s first feminine chief government.

The daughter of a Tunisian immigrant father and Polish-American mom, George served on the Boston Metropolis Council and is believed to be the one Tunisian to ever be elected to American public workplace.

However Wu, who’s Asian American, claimed victory early Wednesday morning. The vote turned on many points, together with whether or not George was a “girl of colour” like Wu.

Again in Virginia, Arab-American Sam Rasoul, who misplaced to Ayala in his bid to signify the Democrats for lieutenant governor, received re-election to the eleventh State Legislative District, an workplace he has held since 2014.

Rasoul had raised greater than $2 million in his marketing campaign, successful greater than 64 % of the vote, in response to the unofficial tally.

“We did it! We received! It’s been an superior experience and extra work to be finished,” he tweeted. “Thanks my mates for giving me the dignity of being in public service. Know I really like serving with each fiber of my being. Onward.”