Joel Haashiim, 73, announces run for Detroit mayor: 'We have two different cities here'

Another candidate is planning to run for Detroit mayor.

Northwest Detroit resident Joel Haashiim, a former businessman who ran a party store and became a wholesaler, is stepping up to compete for the seat after years, he says, of feeling that political leaders are not working enough for the community. Haashiim had planned to run for office in 2021 but registered late and instead turned his support to Anthony Adams in his failed race against Mayor Mike Duggan.

“We have two different cities here. We have downtown Detroit, and we have our community,” Haashiim said. “We've seen the tax abatements and how they have neglected the community. We've seen a great loss of population in the city. And the future of the children and the grandchildren are in jeopardy … young people are leaving”

Haashiim, 73, joins the race against City Council President Mary Sheffield, who filed her paperwork in August and has raised nearly $80,000 since. Duggan has not yet declared whether he'll seek reelection. No other candidate has filed for mayor, according to Wayne County campaign finance records.

Haashiim aims to bring higher-paying jobs to Detroit, reduce crime and establish a program for citizens returning from incarceration. He also says he'll address population loss, which Duggan is currently fighting. The mayor has said soon after taking office that the success of his administration should be judged on the city’s population growth.

“I think Detroit is an international city and it has not reached its full potential as an international city,” Haashiim said. “We need to get a viable program set up for our returning prisoners to make sure that they can have skills and trades that will pay an occupational wage, and you're talking about a $35 an hour and up.”

Haashiim also advocates for affordable housing — using quality materials at low cost — to eradicate homelessness, and municipal banking. He added the city needs to have its own public bank to finance urban projects and business ventures.

“Right now, we have high interest rates,” Haashiim said. “We can come in and give lower interest rates to new homeowners to add to their generational wealth, to add for their future of our children and our grandchildren."

Haashiim aims to push for more international companies to invest in Detroit to diversify the economy and add jobs that pay livable wages. Other goals include rethinking massive tax abatements for large developers, investing in Detroit Public Schools, compensating retirees who faced cuts to their benefits during the city’s bankruptcy and reimbursing homeowners who were overassessed.

“It is government's duty to produce successful businesses, produce an environment to improve the quality of life for its people. If government is not doing that, then the government is not working for the people. The government is working for the corporations and the rich,” Haashiim said.

Haashiim grew up on Detroit’s east side near Van Dyke and Gratiot avenues until he turned 16 when he and his family moved to the northwest side. He attended Rose Elementary School, Burroughs Middle School and Cooley High School. After graduating, he went to Shaw College at Detroit, which closed in 1983, and took courses in building and construction. At 20 years old, he opened up a party store on Seven Mile Road and Hartwell Street and eventually sold it to work the wholesale industry where he traveled to different countries to buy products and sell them to purchasing agents of chain stores.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-businessman Joel Haashiim plans to run for Detroit mayor