Sayegh secures third term as Paterson mayor

Paterson Mayor André Sayegh won a third term as mayor of the state’s third-largest city on Tuesday, the New Jersey Globe projects.

This was his third race against two city councilmen, Alex Mendez and Michael Jackson. Former Councilman Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman is also in the race. As of 11:33 PM, Sayegh led with 6,439 votes, while Mendez trailed with 5,826 and Jackson with 5,046.

Sayegh’s victory eight years ago represented a significant change for the majority-Hispanic city, which had never before elected a mayor from its significant Arab American community. A former member of the city council, Sayegh had also run for mayor in 2010 and 2014, losing to Jeffery Jones and Joey Torres, respectively.

He won with 41% of the vote in 2018, with Mendez finishing second with 22%; Jackson got only 5%. His 2022 re-election was relatively easy: Sayegh beat Mendez, 48%-27% in a five-candidate race; Jackson finished third with 10%.  

Sayegh was a potential primary challenger to Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) in this year’s congressional primary, but opted to run for mayor again instead. 

The race has had its fair share of chaos. A voter fraud indictment hung over Mendez for most of the campaign — the charges, filed six years ago, weren’t dismissed until last month. Jackson remains under indictment.  

All three at-large councilmembers are seeking re-election, and they face 13 other candidates. Incumbents Maritza Davila and Lilisa Mimms are allied with Sayegh.