t’s voting season. The city of Dearborn Heights held an election on November 3 to determine future members of the city council. This year there were five candidates competing for only three seats. In the running were two incumbents and three newcomers. The incumbents were Ned Apigian and Lisa Hicks-Clayton, and according to unofficial results posted on the City of Dearborn Heights’ website, the latter has been successfully re-elected. This year’s newcomers include Troy Brown, Ray Muscat, and Wassim Abdallah who is better known by Dearborn Heights citizens as “Dave.” Of the three, Muscat and Abdallah will begin their terms next year.

On the November 3 ballot was also a Dearborn Heights District Seven technology bond proposal. The bond, which passed, will use 4.95 million dollars to upgrade the technology in District Seven schools. Bonds are set to be sold starting in late February of 2016. Computer labs will receive both hardware and software upgrades, traditional door locks will be replaced with electronic ones and, most notably, new interior and exterior cameras will be added to the schools. In addition, adjustments will be made to handicap entrances in order to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.

The bond was last proposed in February of 2015 but failed by 36 votes, according to Superintendent of Schools John Fazer. The last technology bond to actually be approved in Dearborn Heights occurred in 1999 and provided District Seven schools with new computers and allowed for the establishment of a district-wide network. The district will now be working to improve the existing network and the quality of technology education for its students.