Campaigns

History of Political Campaigns by Yusif Barakat

having arrived in Ellis Island on my 12th birthday (August, 1947) as a displaced refugee from my birthplace of Haifa, Palestine, I grew up and completed High School in Highland Park, Michigan.  I went on to get two degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit.  During the 60’s I started two businesses: “Complete Credit Protection, Inc.” (a credit collection and counseling agency that employed 29 people) and “Bear Cat Motors” (a five state distribution dealership for the “Amphicar” – an amphibious automobile that is also a boat).

In 1968 I moved to Oakland County and lived in Madison Heights and Royal Oak, Michigan.  It was then that I began my political campaigns to be elected to public office.

1968: I ran for County Supervisor and won by 4 votes.  It was later reversed by a recount and I lost by 4 votes.

1970: After the County Supervisor was renamed County Commissioner I ran for that again.  This time I was elected by a large majority!  I served for two years and accomplished a lot for the county and the community.

1972: I decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, for a variety of reasons, and came in a close second, in a seven person race.

1974: I ran for the State House of Representatives and again, came in a close second.

1974: I also ran the campaign for the Revised City Charter, for Detroit, which gained passage after many years of attempting approval.

1975: I decided to leave politics and went onto other careers and exciting experiences.

Below and on linked pages you will find some of my campaign history and strategies, with scanned flyers and articles from four political campaigns I have run, in chronological date order.

Your comments would be welcomed.

Yusif