Lynn Blasey, 42, is a write in candidate for Hamtramck mayor. She says she decided to run after community members asked her to run.

“When some community members approached me, it was really asking me to be a voice or a viable choice that residents can feel more comfortable about,” she says.

Blasey is the co-director of Community Arts Partnerships for the College for Creative Studies. She has worked at the education department at the Arab American National Museum, educating people about Arab American communities. 

Blasey ran and lost bids for the Hamtramck City Council in 2021 and 2023. She serves as the vice chair of the Hamtramck Arts and Culture Commission. 

She created the Hamtramck Area Disaster Recovery Group as part of flood recovery efforts for FEMA after the floods in 2021.

Uplifting Hamtramck

Blasey says she’s concerned about Hamtramck’s public image.

“People across the world have some pretty negative opinions of our city, and so this is a really good opportunity to sway that narrative and help celebrate the wonderful, magical things that make this community so unique and diverse,” she says. 

Blasey says she’s disappointed by the recent election fraud in the city.

“I have spoken up previously about the effects cheating has and that people doing it continuously is a degradation of our democracy and really weakens the whole system,” she says.

Blasey says she would like to hold people accountable by taking a firm stance against people who don’t respect the law.

She says it’s important to communicate and connect with community leaders and organizations in Hamtramck to bring people together.

“I think we need to return to having more town hall meetings, utilizing some of our public spaces when there are some of those more challenging issues on the table, really taking those to the community,” she says.

Supporting the arts and businesses

Blasey is connected to the city’s arts community. She says more can be done to leverage artists. 

“There is a huge design economy, arts economy, that Hamtramck is not really tapped into. We have a lot of artists here, but we’re not capitalizing on that,” she says.

Blasey is a part of the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority’s Organization & Promotions sub-committee. 

“I think there are some really uniquely Hamtramck ways that we can attract new businesses,” she says.

She says it’s important for people to work together, building on each other’s strengths. 

“I think there is so much value in bringing people together,” she says.

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