JANUARY 2022

Thomas Semaan Elected Mayor of New Baltimore
BY CAL ABBO
New Baltimore Mayor Thomas Semaan
Aziz Semaan left Iraq and immigrated
to Detroit in 1929,
roughly 92 years before his
first-born son would hold a mayor’s
office. He married Shammemta Shaouni
Semaan in 1949 and stayed in
Detroit until 1963 when a friend
warned Aziz of Detroit’s declining
safety and status, prompting him to
buy a grocery store and relocate his
family.
This piece of advice was the first
of many events that led to the historic
2021 election of Thomas Semaan,
Aziz’s son, to the mayor’s office of
New Baltimore, a small town with a
population of 12,000. Semaan’s family
moved to New Baltimore when he
was only three years old. Of Semaan’s
ten siblings, six still live in the Anchor
Bay area. As a lifelong resident
of New Baltimore, Semaan’s roots in
the small town are as broad as they
are deep.
At 27, Semaan won his first election
to New Baltimore’s city council.
He served for four years from 1987
to 1991. “I decided at my young age
that I would continue in my business
practices,” he said. Since then,
Semaan has worked in medical consulting.
“Back then, I told myself 30
years down the road I would consider
running for mayor. I did it 30 years
later to the day.”
In the meantime, Semaan stayed
active in both the New Baltimore
and Chaldean communities. He
volunteered at the local Fire Department
for almost 30 years and is
an active member of the New Baltimore
Lions Club and New Baltimore
Goodfellows, two local charities.
Aside from his 30-years promise,
Semaan’s motivations for becoming
mayor span from political alienation
to developing his community.
In the beginning, Semaan noticed
a vacuum of political leadership.
“The more I watched, on the
national scene, the ability of our
elected officials to lose sight of the
people, it became apparent to me
that the only way to make a difference
was putting my money where
my mouth is,” he said.
Soon after, Semaan set up an exploratory
committee to see if a run
for mayor, with all his passion and
heart for New Baltimore, was possible.
“When I got elected to the city
council 30 years ago, my brother-inlaw
would tease me and affectionately
call me the ‘Gov. of New Baltimore.’
For better or worse, it stuck
with quite a few of my family and
friends.”
When the committee returned
with positive feedback, Semaan got
the petitions he needed, found the
required signatures over the weekend,
and filed for the election on his
mother’s birthday.
“I believe the best candidates for
a job are the people who share your
values as close as you can find. A
shared vision, if you will,” Semaan
said. “If you strictly vote for a party
anymore, I think it leaves you wanting.
Based on my personal traits and
based on my faith, those values speak
for themselves and create an image
of who I am as a person.”
Semaan has a history of energetic
and solution-oriented service to his
community, the perfect track record
for a mayor, and one that he will continue
in his new position. “For me,
it’s not just an honor but a privilege,”
he said. “When you’re more focused
on the community and not yourself,
great things can be accomplished.”
His office has an “open-door,
transparent policy. The residents
need to know the elected officials
work for them,” Semaan said. “We’re
not an island to ourselves and our
agendas. Any development should
be positive and it should have an effect
on the community that increases
the health, safety, and welfare of our
residents.”
On Nov. 3, Semaan’s phone blew
up with calls from the Chaldean
community. “It was incredible how
fast word got out that I had won my
election,” he said. “You talk about
humbling experiences. An immigrant’s
first-born American son was
elected to the mayor’s position in the
community his parents brought him
to at three years old.”
Semaan has always been proud
of his heritage, but this moment
was different. “I was filled with
gratitude and pride for my nationality,
which I’ve always been proud
of,” he said. “My father was a proud
American, but he never lost focus
of who he was.”
Semaan’s parents took care
to ensure their children grew up
as proud cultural Chaldeans in
an American society. His family
adapted to being American
while embracing their Chaldean
heritage. “Honesty, integrity, family,
and faith: these are eminent
in how I move forward in my life,”
Semaan said. “Faith is one of the
places where I look for wisdom and
strength. That’s why I believe we
will be very successful.” Semaan
added that New Baltimore is also a
very faithful community.
“Our greatest jewel is the fact
that we’re a waterfront community
on one of the bays of the Great
Lakes,” Semaan said. Since he was
little, Semaan remembers many different
attempts to develop the waterfront
to no avail. “This is something
we’re focused on and intent on making
progress for,” he said.
“This town has always been diamond
in the rough for me, and we
have a great opportunity to polish
that stone,” Semaan said. “And I’m
really looking forward to putting my
fingerprints on that.”
28 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2022