Loading ...Amen New City Development Director in Dearborn Heights
Mayor Dan Paletko introduced the new Community & Economic Development Department director, Ron Amen, at the Tuesday council meeting.
The city is currently in the midst of a lawsuit filed on the behalf of Hassane Jamal, the former director. The lawsuit claims he was fired from his position because he is an Arab American.
Amen, an Arab American, said he’s glad to be working for the city.
For the past several years he has worked as the operations and facility manager of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Amen said.
He said before that he was an executive assistant to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano for community and economic development.
He also worked for many years as a police officer in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and is a veteran of Vietnam, Paletko said.
The mayor said he’s known Amen personally for years, both from when he ran to be a trustee of Wayne State University, one of Paletko’s alma mater, and his time in Ficano’s office.
“He’s a very pleasant man,” Paletko said. “I believe I picked an excellent candidate.”
Councilwoman Janet Badalow asked how Amen was found for the position.
“Are you working for the city or are you working for the people suing the city?” Paletko said in response.
Badalow said she took exception to that. She said she works for the city and believes who directs community and economic development is entirely the council’s business.
Paletko said he won’t discuss anything about the position that is related to the lawsuit.
He said he wanted to find the best person for the position – which is an appointment completely at the discretion of the mayor. Paletko added that he has been in the process of looking and conducting interviews for the past few months.
Amen has many good attributes that make him a fit for the job, Paletko said. He said he’s shown a good ability to work with the business district and the city Chamber of Commerce, and he has some innovative ideas.
Jamal, describing himself as a native of Lebanon and a devout practitioner of Islam, alleges in the lawsuit that the mayor violated his civil rights when he reassigned the former CEDD director’s duties as administrator of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to his assistant, Krystina Kramarz, a “younger, Caucasian and non-Islamic employee who was born in the United States.”
Amen said administration of the NSP was re-moved from the Community & Economic Development Department before his appointment. He said he would like to see the NSP come back to the department.
Currently there are no plans to move the NSP, Paletko said. However, he said everything is subject to review.
Ben Baird
Dearborn Press and Gudide