A 50-year-old IT manager struck a patriotic theme as he declared his candidacy for Dearborn mayor, saying he will focus his campaign on fighting crime, flooding and drug addiction.
Standing in front of images of four American flags, Nagi Almudhegi kicked off his campaign Sunday at Fairlane Club in Dearborn before a crowd of hundreds as he walked on stage to a song often played at Donald Trump rallies, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” the lyrics “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free” echoing across the hall. Almudhegi supported Trump for president, and several Republican activists and Trump supporters attended his campaign announcement, including Tudor Dixon, the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee, and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, both of whom sat in the front row. Almudhegi became known in recent years for speaking out against some LGBTQ+ books in public schools, a cause that was supported by Dixon and other Republicans in 2022.
Nagi Almudhegi, 50, is surrounded by supporters after his speech kicking off his campaign for Dearborn mayor, on Feb. 23, 2025, at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn, Michigan.
“My name is Nagi Almudhegi and I am officially announcing my candidacy for Dearborn mayor,” he declared as the crowd applauded. “It really is time to end the career of the career politicians.”
Almudhegi has not served in elected office previously and works for an auto parts manufacturer.
During his talk, Almudhegi spoke about his life caught between different cultures, saying he experienced anti-Arab racism while working in rural Ohio and faced atheist liberal professors at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where he graduated with a chemical engineering degree. Born in Yemen, Almudhegi moved to the U.S. at the age of six. While Almudhegi said he loves the people of Yemen, his visit to his native land at the age of 23 was a culture shock because of the chaotic “complete madness,” such as drivers ignoring traffic rules.
“And so when I came back to America, the first thing I did was, I got on my hands and knees,” he said. “I was like, ‘Thank you God for bringing me over here.'”
Almudhegi said the culture he experienced in college from professors “was anti-American and anti-white. And they would always tell us that, you know, America is a racist country, America is a sexist country, America is a homophobic country. And that stayed with me.”
When he moved to Ohio for work, he would get stares when shopping and said that an employee on the shop floor once called him a racial slur. But one time while playing basketball, a group of whites came to his defense when he was once threatened by another aggressive player.
“And in that instant, the notion that white people being inherently evil was completely erased from my mind,” he said.
Nagi Almudhegi, 50, kicked off his campaign for Dearborn mayor, on Feb. 23, 2025, at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn, Michigan.
Almudhegi claimed that crime and reckless driving is a growing problem in Dearborn
“It’s pretty clear, guys, that Dearborn is deteriorating, and it’s rapidly deteriorating more so in over the last few years,” he said.
But police data released by the city last month showed that crime is down over the past year. There was a 7% decrease in crime overall from 2023 to 2024, with bigger decreases in major crimes, Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said. There was only one homicide last year in Dearborn, a city of about 110,000 residents that draws thousands of additional people daily who work in the city where Ford Motor Co. is headquartered. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has been working with police to combat reckless driving.
Almudhegi also complained about flooding problems, saying that in the past, he never had problems, but “in the last few years, my house flooded three times. The last time that it flooded my whole entire street.”
Hammoud was elected in November 2021 amid frustration with city officials and then Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja over flooding that summer. Since taking office, Hammoud has developed plans to deal with flooding, announcing in October the city will use some federal funds to come up with a climate action plan that works to prevent extensive flooding.
Almudhegi said drug overdoses are a growing problem. Hammoud also has spoken about the problem, installing NARCAN vending machines in the city to help people who overdose and speaking to religious groups about the problem among youth.
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Attending the campaign kickoff were Dearborn city councilmen Ken Paris and Kamal Alsawafy, Dearborn schools board member Hussein Berry, and Republican activists Stephanie Butler and Hassan Aoun, who is trying to run for mayor but was disqualified by Dearborn City Clerk George Darany because of his felony record. Paris and Alsawafy said afterwards they have not endorsed anyone for mayor. Almudhegi criticized Dearborn police for arresting Aoun at public meetings in recent years.
“Under my administration, nobody will be arrested for exercising their freedom of speech,” he said. “That will never, ever happen.”
Almudhegi has been outspoken against LGBTQ+ books in schools, but did not raise the issue during his speech Sunday.
Nasser Muhsin, who introduced Almudhegi before his speech, told the crowd that children and families are under attack.
“Our community has been a victim of a deep agenda that runs slowly under the water and you don’t see it until it’s almost too late,” Muhsin said.
Almudhegi formed a candidate committee on Jan. 30, Wayne County records show. The nonpartisan mayoral primary is in August and the general election in November.
Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nagi Almudhegi launches campaign for Dearborn mayor
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