Dearborn Heights Acting Mayor Mo Baydoun is the projected winner in the city's mayoral election on Tuesday over Councilwoman Denise Malinowski Maxwell.

The two candidates were looking to fill a seat vacated by former Mayor Bill Bazzi after he was confirmed as the ambassador to Tunisia earlier this month.

Baydoun was named acting mayor in October following Bazzi's resignation. If elected, Maxwell would become the city's first woman mayor in more than 20 years, since Ruth Canfield.

Dearborn Heights mayoral election results

Click here to view the election results for the Dearborn Heights mayoral race.

With all 15 precincts now reporting in the non-partisan race, the unofficial numbers are Baydoun with 5,973 votes; Maxwell with 2,781 votes; and write-in names with 23 votes.  

The Candidates

Baydoun was appointed to an open city council seat in 2021 for a two-year term before he was reelected in 2023, eventually becoming council president.

Maxwell was chairwoman until the 2020 death of then-Mayor Daniel Paletko. She was named interim mayor shortly after and ran unsuccessfully against Bazzi in the 2021 election. 

Key Issues

Both candidates, who grew up in Dearborn Heights, say they are focused on improving safety in the neighborhoods.

One key issue that Baydoun is focused on is investing in parks and addressing blighted properties. 

"We have to focus on the Department of Public Works, our ordinance department and then our parks and recreation," Baydoun said.

Meanwhile, Maxwell would like to address traffic crashes in the city and push for more law enforcement on the streets.  

"I'm tired of looking at the news every day and seeing an accident in Dearborn Heights, and a lot of them are fatal injuries," she told CBS News Detroit. "It's got to stop. We need to get more law enforcement out there and ticket them."