Chaldean Voices

Chaldean leaders prepare for new challenges after election wins

By Paul Natinsky

The primary elections are over, the national party conventions, a buzzing memory. As many politicians gear up for the tough grind to November’s general election, some are preparing to assume their posts.

Two Chaldean township officials emerged from Democratic primaries in areas where Republicans are rarer than unicorns. This means—as in Detroit—the Democratic primary winners are shoo-ins for the general election.

Emily Dabish Yahkind, a Superior Township entrepreneur and government policy veteran is set to assume the township’s top post, while Jim Manna prepares for his final term as a trustee in West Bloomfield Township.

Superior has a growing population that is currently 14,000. Yahkind moved there during the pandemic and began growing a wine business, SolSummit, which works with a local vintner to create and package quality wines for people on the go. The business is currently selling to customers in eight states and has a strong presence in progressive markets that include Ann Arbor, Washington, DC, and Massachusetts.

Entrepreneurial exploits aside, Yahkind has politics and policy in her blood. She says she became imbued with the policy bug in college. She has a master’s degree in Public Management from Johns Hopkins University to complement an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Michigan.

Her career path has included work with former Detroit City Council President Saunteel Jenkins, work on immigration issues at the state level, and work developing strategic partnerships in the private sector. She has been Superior’s planning commissioner since 2021.

“I have always been a Democrat and stuck to the issues that are important to me,” said Yahkind. She said she has a “passion for issues related to immigrant communities, helping international students stay in the state.”

With her academic credentials and work experience, Yahkind seems like a politician destined for a bigger stage. “I am much more interested in local government. I love to see the change that can happen on the ground,” she said.

Yahkind views her spot as township supervisor as a sort of homecoming. She likes the idea that when she helps open a park or assist a resident accessing government services, she can see the results by simply driving through town.

Her dad is a Chaldean immigrant who she watched take advantage of the opportunities life in the United States provides. The experience has informed her thinking about community and what it means to have the opportunity to help others.

For now, Yahkind plans to roll up her sleeves and continue to develop SolSummit while she handles township business. She’ll be busy. Supervisor in Superior is a fulltime job with broad responsibilities.

While Yahkind is at a beginning of sorts, Manna is preparing for his exit. In West Bloomfield Township, Manna won what will be his last four-year term as trustee. He said the election was a tough one and that he was targeted by other trustees with whom he has had policy disagreements over the years.

Manna is frustrated that the township is stingy about granting liquor licenses and that it maintains a $44 million surplus while refusing to pass tax breaks for its residents and businesses.

Recruited by then-Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste before the 2016 election, Manna quickly befriended the next supervisor, Steven Kaplan.

“I ran so that our Chaldean community would have a voice in the community. West Bloomfield is the second largest Chaldean community in Michigan after Sterling Heights. And we want to have a voice in the community, and I’m that voice,” said Manna.

Manna, an associate broker/recruiter with Real Estate One, is done after he serves the term to which he was just elected. He said the job is a lot of work in addition to the contentious political environment. Trustees earn $8,000 per year for their services.

As he prepares for the last four years of a 12-year tour of duty, Manna is proud of his legacy. He says the township employs 13 Chaldeans, including police officers, EMTs and firemen.

Manna says attorney Anthony Shallal is his likely successor as the voice of the Chaldean community. Shallal currently serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals. “I think he’s up for it, but four years is a long time,” says Manna. “We’ll see who else emerges.”

It’s been a tumultuous tour for Manna, and his final foray is unlikely to be quiet.

“Another reason why this election was so important to me is that we have an ongoing investigation by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission against (Clerk and Trustee) Debbie Binder for a racist comment that she made that all Chaldeans are crooks.”

“I filed that complaint with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and they finally opened the case against her.”

As Manna winds up his political career—he has no further ambitions in that direction—he continues to encourage the Chaldean community to vote and keep their voice strong.

“The biggest challenge in our community—Sterling Heights has the largest population of Chaldean-Americans, yet we don’t have a single elected official in Sterling Heights,” says Manna. “And that’s because people don’t vote.

“We still have a long way to go as a community to get people out to vote.”

Captions:

Emily Dabish Yahkind with husband and son; Jim Manna