Featured photo: Leon El-Alamin at the recent interviews for the Flint City Council 1st Ward seat
Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
Lifetime Flint resident Leon El-Alamin has been appointed to the 1st Ward Flint City Councilman position once held by the late Eric Mays.
The Flint City Charter required the council to fill the vacant seat within 30 days after the death of Mays. The council recently held interviews in which council members took turns asking nine eligible candidates questions about their suitability for the role.
El-Alamin is the founder and executive director of the MADE Institute. According to the institute’s website, The MADE Institute’s mission is to provide comprehensive violence prevention, solution-driven research and workforce development for at-risk youth and returning citizens.
“Why do I feel like I’m the best candidate to fulfill this role is because I’ve been doing the work for over the last 10 years,” stated El-Alamin. “I had an opportunity to do some work with Mr. Mays prior to his passing…My passion for the people speaks for itself.”
Council President Ladel Lewis asked the candidates each what their top three priorities were in the first 90 days for the 1st Ward if they were to be elected.
“In the first 90 days I would like to fill vacant committee seats that have been vacant for quite some time, such as the Zoning Board of Appeals and things like that,” said El-Alamin. “I would work with Mr. Brown, blight director, to address the serious blight issues across the ward that we’ve been having for quite some time. Then, I would work with the residents. I would put out survey, talk to the residents and see their concerns and needs and work with them to address those needs.”
El-Alamin, who grew up on the north side of Flint, and the other candidates were asked by Councilwoman Tonya Burns how they felt about public safety and whether they would work on a public safety plan. They were asked if they had ever been in possession of an illegal firearm and, if so, what the outcome was. Lastly, Burns asked what a safe community looked like to each candidate.
“Public safety is a top priority to me, and I think we have made some strides in the right direction…” said El-Alamin.
He said he is a “formerly incarcerated man.” He previously pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges after an incident through which he was seeking revenge.
“In 2003, I was shot in my head and in my back and left to die because of the lifestyle I once lived,” explained El-Alamin. “So, I know the importance and how dangerous guns can be – when I lived that former lifestyle in my prior years. But since then, since I came home in 2010, I have transformed my life, and I’m a big advocate to getting guns off the streets, talking to youth and making sure there’s youth programs out in the community so that the kids don’t go down the same path that I once went down in my former life.”
The Clean Slate Act, which went into effect on April 11, 2021, expanded expungement eligibility in Michigan. People with up to three felonies and an unlimited amount of misdemeanors became eligible to have their records thrown out. El-Alamin was able to have his record expunged, and MADE Institute was available to help others navigate the process.
According to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton once your past convictions are expunged, you don’t need to disclose them to anybody if asked. Leyton also said criminal records are not available to potential employers when they get background checks.
El-Alamin.answered the next part of Burns’ question.
“A safe neighborhood to me is clean, affordable water that we can drink from our faucets because the plumbing from the streets up to the house and all the plumbing in the inside has been replaced.”
El-Alamin said to him a safe neighborhood also consists of property values going up, more home ownership and community policing.
Audience members praised El-Alamin for his openness when he stated that he was found to be in possession of an illegal weapon and that he is a returning citizen. He explained how this experience propelled him to work hard and impact the lives of other men so they could make good decisions in life.
When asked he said he has not been caught in possession of an illegal weapon as a returning citizen he said he has not and said he is a licensed and registered gun carrier.
Community members spoke in the council chambers in favor of El-Alamin being appointed prior to the interviews.
Council members Lewis, Quincy Murphy, Judy Priestley and Eva Worthing voted in favor of El-Alamin’s appointment.
Council members Burns, Jerri Winfrey-Carter and Dennis Pfeiffer voted for Nadine Roberts to be appointed.
“On day one, I will continue to do what I’ve been doing in the 1st Ward, such as blight elimination, community cleanups, renovating blighted homes, transforming them, and assisting individuals who are coming out of prison and jail to reside in these homes.”
El-Alamin said he is ready to improve on the work he has already been doing , including working with elders, to help move the city forward.
He will serve as an interim council member until a special election is held. A special primary election has been scheduled by the council for Aug. 6, with a special general election to be held Nov. 5.
