Arab-American Salamey Sworn in as 19th District Chief Judge
Those were two of the themes that were woven throughout the investiture ceremony Wednesday evening for new 19th District Judge Sam Salamey, who will take office Jan. 2.
The pride came through with the crowd of more than 500 people in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, many of whom are from the Arab-American community.
Unity was a theme for many of the speakers, who emphasized the importance to the city’s Arab-American community that a man born in Lebanon who became a U.S. citizen not only won the primary election, but also beat a sitting judge, Richard Wygonik, as voters looked past ethnicity to elect him.
Salamey — a former 19th District magistrate who had been running a law office on Chase Road — emphasized unity in his speech shortly after being sworn in by state Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra, saying as chief judge he would do his best to help the court put its legal and emotional struggles in the past.
Salamey, 54, will begin his six-year term Jan. 2, moving into the courtroom occupied by Wygonik, the current chief judge, around the corner from fellow 19th District Judges William Hultgren and Mark Somers, both of whom were in the front row on stage.
“It’s overwhelming,” Salamey said after the ceremony as he was greeted on stage by well-wishers. “It’s a humbling moment.
“My biggest objective right now is to live up to the expectations of the city and do the best I can as a judge.”
He said he found out about 10 days before the ceremony that the state Supreme Court had selected him as chief judge.
“I was hoping I would get a little breathing space,” he said, but he also didn’t want the job to go to someone outside 19th District Court, which has the entire city as its jurisdiction.
His wife, Jumana, got a laugh from the crowd during her speech when she said she asked him if he was sure he wanted to be a judge with everything he’d have to put up with.
“I think he will do a wonderful job because he’s very fair, dedicated, open-minded,” she said after the program. “He has so many good qualities.”
Salamey said during his speech that he has a “burning passion” that will not dissipate because of his devotion to the city and its residents. He said the experience of crisscrossing the city to talk to residents and get their feedback about 19th District Court is “irreplaceable” and “will always keep a warm place in my heart.”
“Dearborn is a community that is rich in its diversity and strong in its unity,” he said.
He said, though, that 19th District Court has suffered some adversity — though he didn’t specifically talk of budget cuts, employee lawsuits against Somers netting judgments of more than $1.2 million and an uneasy relationship among the judges and some employees.
“I’m hoping I can serve as a catalyst … to bring a new environment,” Salamey said, adding that he will promote compatibility among the branches of city government without compromising 19th District Court’s sovereignty.
On the bench, he vowed to administer justice with fairness, and judge each case on its own merits.
He thanked the city’s voters and all of his supporters, especially his wife and their four children, who were on stage with him.
“We will succeed because we are one community, we are one people, we are one city,” he said. “We are Dearborn.”
Mayor Jack O’Reilly told the crowd that Salamey is a “man of character” who worked harder than his opponents, walking in 43 of the citys 50 precincts during his campaign. He said Salamey was “the best candidate” and “our community is better off.”
“This is a great day for the city of Dearborn,” O’Reilly said. “This is really an event that celebrates one Dearborn.”
Wayne County Circuit Judge Charlene Elder, who grew up in the city’s South End and, like Salamey, is a former 19th District magistrate, said the city’s Arab-American community had been making ripples, but now is “indeed making waves.”
Mariam Saad-Bazzi, an assistant Wayne County prosecutor and president of the Dearborn-based Arab American Political Action Committee, said, “This has showed the power of the Arab vote,” she said, adding that the many nationalities in the Arab community unified to support Salamey.
“He was the most qualified candidate for 19th District Court,” she said.
Helal Farhat, Salamey’s law partner, said he’ll miss walking down the hall to eat lunch and discuss politics, and promised to work down the hall from him again someday.
“I’m proud of you as a younger brother can be of an elder,” he said. “You opened so many doors for me and so many others.”
Former law partner Laura Berry Harris entered the field at about the same time as Salamey, and they were hired by her father, Michael Berry, an attorney and highly respected community leader. She called Salamey her brother “in law” and said, on behalf of her father, that he watched his career growth “with profound pride as a father would his son.” She said she sees a lot of her father in Salamey.
Joe Slezak
Press & Guide Newspapers