Dearborn Heights Mayor November 2 Election Candidate Guide

Voters head to the polls on November 2 to cast their votes for local leaders, ballot proposals and more. 

Get to know the candidates running for local office in your community with 101.9 FM WDET’s Candidate Guides. Surveys were distributed to candidates to complete and you can see the responses for candidates for Dearborn Heights Mayor below.

See a full list of races covered here.

Courtesy of Bill Bazzi

Bill Bazzi

Current job: Mayor of Dearborn Heights

Education: Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering (Aeronautics), both from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

About Bill Bazzi: As a former City Councilman since 2017 and current Mayor since January 26, 2021, I hit the ground running to strategize and develop a stronger, cleaner, safer, and more vibrant city. I hold a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering (Aeronautics), worked for Boeing (Quality Manager/Auditor), Ford Motor Company (Product Development Engineer) and served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 21 years, in multiple leadership capacities including Military Police, Intelligence Chief, and Operations/Intelligence Senior Enlisted Leader. I have also served on an array of advocacy and community service boards that allow me to impact and enhance the lives of children, young adults, veterans, senior citizens, and communities at large. As a public servant, I chose to take an early retirement from a lucrative position as an engineer of 22 years at Ford to serve my city as Mayor this year. I would be honored to be elected and continue serving as Mayor on November 2^nd and for years to come.

Why are you running for Dearborn Heights Mayor? I am running for Mayor to maintain my commitment and continue working for our residents. As a former City Councilman since 2017 and current Mayor since January 26, 2021, I have hit the ground running to strategize and develop a stronger, cleaner, safer, and more vibrant city.  Although the foundation has been set in place in the short time that I have served as Mayor, there is more work to be done. I remain committed to repairing our infrastructure; resolving our longstanding flooding issues; ridding our neighborhoods of blight; enhancing city services and equal access to resources; providing the police and fire departments with the resources needed to keep our community safe; respecting and listening to residents; and ensuring transparency in city government.   

Although I would be honored to be elected and continue my service as Mayor, it is not about me — this is and always has been about the people. I would welcome the opportunity to continue working with our excellent administration and new team members, city council, and residents, to bring this vision to complete fruition. 

While I held secure positions at Ford Motor Company and Boeing, I chose to reenlist in the Marine Corps multiple times, sacrificing my personal financial gain, safety, and time away from my family, to maximize my contribution in various important capacities to serve our country. With that same notion of service, there is more that I will contribute to Dearborn Heights, as I am equipped with the skills and experience necessary to continue serving as Mayor.

What is the most important issue facing Dearborn Heights? One of the most important issues is the infrastructure and flooding which has been plaguing our city for decades.

How would you address that issue? I have been working on a comprehensive flood mitigation plan involving the creation of a detention basin on parts of the Warren Valley golf course property addressing the Rouge River. I have also been working closely with Wayne County and holding strategic discussions with local, state, and federal stakeholders regarding Ecorse Creek. Part of the flood mitigation plan includes the preliminary step of removing log jams and assessing sedimentation issues throughout the Creek, to help improve flow and alleviate back-up and street flooding. In addition, I am committed to purchasing more homes along the creek to create detention basins to alleviate the flood from our streets and homes. I am excited to announce that we are commencing Phase 1 of the Ecorse Creek clear out on Saturday, October 23, 2021.

What actions/decisions by the current mayoral administration or city council have you disagreed with or, if you are the incumbent, what are you proud of accomplishing in your tenure? Since being appointed to Mayor, we now have a city grant writer to help with additional financial resources; hired the first city engineer who has made assessments and effective changes which saved out city tens of thousands of dollars; have the newly formed Ecorse Creek Commission and Business Commission. In addition, I have streamlined the process for business development and removed unnecessary obstacles. I have also advocated to keep our dispatch center in Dearborn Heights and identified funds to retool our Dearborn Heights dispatch center in our city. This past summer, I have worked with our Parks and Recreation team to bring various community events to benefit our residents and enhanced programs for our senior citizens. In addition, I have made it a priority to spearhead community service initiatives that engage youth from various area high schools in providing resources to our residents.

Furthermore, some priorities that I am currently and will continue to spearhead include the following:

Warren Valley: Preserving Warren Valley as a Golf Course and creating retention and detention areas to address Rouge River flooding in our city.

Ecorse Creek: Clearing the Ecorse Creek and purchasing homes along its borders to create basins and prevent flooding.         

Waste Removal: Contracting with a new waste removal company to provide thorough reliable service for our residents.

Public Safety: Increasing patrol to deter speeding while prioritizing enhanced resources for police and fire to keep our residents safe.

Infrastructure: Conducting a city-wide evaluation and computer modeling of our aging infrastructure to evaluate and identify areas requiring improvements.

Blight: Launching a “Fight the Blight” campaign to rid our city of long-standing blight and enforce ordinance codes

Van Born Corridor: Working with the city of Taylor on the Van Born corridor to enhance the aesthetics and economy of our city, particularly the southern entrance of Dearborn Heights.

Denise Malinowski Maxwell

Candidate did not respond to survey request.