The Arab American News - Berry seeking second term in Dearborn Heights

It's been almost four years since Tom Berry began serving on Dearborn Heights' city council, but the way he sees it, he's just getting started.

Dearborn Heights City Council member Tom Berry (center) believes his experience will help if re-elected to a second term. PHOTO: Nick Meyer/TAAN

Berry, who is Lebanese and the only Arab American on the city's council, will be up for re-election on November 3, and he hopes that voters give him the chance to continue to explore ways to make positive change happen within the city.

"Actually, there was a huge learning curve," Berry said about starting out on city council. "There's a wall most new politicians hit at a certain time during their first term, but once you find your way through the confusion of politics you begin to understand truly what your worth is and how you can contribute to the city."

Berry is one of eight candidates vying for four city council seats, and the race includes fellow incumbents Janet Badalow, Marge Horvath, and Margaret Van Houten. There was no primary this year due to the small number of candidates.

Despite the fact that Berry was originally elected with the second-most votes on the ballot, the 53-year-old business development manager at Belle Tire and Dearborn Fordson alum knows that he still has a fight on his hands to retain his position.

"I still campaign every day," he said. "You have to make sure that you make contact with those people that have an effect on the outcome."

Luckily for Berry and the other incumbents, Dearborn Heights hasn't faced many of the same challenges regarding budget issues and job cuts that bigger cities like Dearborn and Detroit have faced.

Tom Berry

"We're all grateful we haven't lost the large number of services that other cities are or employees," Berry said.

"The mayor (Daniel Paletko) has his finger on the pulse of the finances of our city; we're not in the dire position some other cities may be in but there are still issues that affect our cities and our people," he said.

Berry cited flooding problems, specifically with the sewer system and needed upgrades, as a major problem and added that other areas of focus should be proper enforcement of city ordinances and making sure that the police department continues to work towards offering "strong and fair protection."

Foreclosures remain an issue as well despite not being as bad as in other cities. Berry believes that the situation could be a handled a bit differently.

"We don't have as many foreclosures as people believe; we have a strong housing stock (and) a lot of those foreclosed homes have been bought," he said. "I believe we could adopt some new procedures to better handle foreclosures to ensure that they don't become dilapidated eyesores in the city."

Berry also talked about the Arab American community in Dearborn Heights and the effect the economy has had on their situation.

"I think they're content right now taking into consideration the economy," he said. "Although they'd like to see some changes, I think they're a little hesitant to make recommendations because of the state of the economy right now."

Berry hopes that the chance to address some of those and other concerns will come in the near future. But for now, he's focused on the task at hand with the election just days away.

"I feel comfortable with my position, but I know never to take anything for granted," he said. "I really appreciate the confidence the residents have placed in me."