After a bruising election, Lilisa Mimms wants to lead the Paterson City Council

Joe Malinconico
·3 min read
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PATERSON — After getting the most votes in last month’s City Council election, Lilisa Mimms is looking to supplant one of the mayor’s current allies as president of the governing body.

“I think our city deserves good leadership and it’s time for a change,” Mimms said.

The current council president, Maritza Davila, finished second to Mimms in the May 10 election for three citywide council seats.

Mimms got 5,303 votes compared with 4,784 for Davila. Those numbers represent a reversal from the 2018 election, when the two women also finished first and second in the council race. Four years ago, Davila got 5,557 votes, while Mimms had 4,967.

Davila during the past year forged an alliance with Mayor Andre Sayegh, a relationship highlighted by the lengthy speech the council president gave at Sayegh’s victory party on election night.

Paterson City Council President Maritza Davila speaks in support of a measure to rename part of Main Street to Palestine Way at a meeting on March 29, 2022.
Paterson City Council President Maritza Davila speaks in support of a measure to rename part of Main Street to Palestine Way at a meeting on March 29, 2022.

Davila did not respond to multiple messages from a news reporter in recent weeks asking whether she planned to seek a third straight term as council president.

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The contest for president of the nine-member council could become something of a scrum, with 1st Ward Councilman Michael Jackson and 5th Ward Councilman Luis Velez saying they want the position. Jackson finished third in the five-man race for mayor, and Velez came in fifth.

“They should all be supporting me,” Velez said. “This council needs to understand that the elections are over, and we should be doing what’s best for the community.”

Jackson said he should be “next in line” because he is the longest-tenured council member who has not gotten the president’s post.

“It’s obvious the administration’s objective is to keep me from serving as president because I would hold them accountable,” Jackson said.

Councilwoman Rev. Dr. Lilisa Mimms speaks during the celebration of redevelopment and expansion of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park with planting of seven new trees. The Park commemorates the visit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Bethel AME Church in 1968, the week before he was assassinated. November 30, 2018, Paterson, NJ
Councilwoman Rev. Dr. Lilisa Mimms speaks during the celebration of redevelopment and expansion of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park with planting of seven new trees. The Park commemorates the visit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Bethel AME Church in 1968, the week before he was assassinated. November 30, 2018, Paterson, NJ

Sayegh did not respond to a message asking whom he supports for the council president’s position. Neither did council members Al Abdelaziz, Shahin Khalique and Alex Mendez, nor Councilman-elect Md Forid Uddin.

Paterson has a nonpartisan election system, under which candidates for mayor and council run as individuals, not members of political parties. As a result, there’s usually lots of behind-the-scenes maneuvering during the weeks leading up to the July 1 reorganization meeting of the governing body, which is when the council president gets picked.

In 2018, Mimms backed Sayegh while Davila was aligned with one of his opponents. But since then, the two councilwomen have changed positions. Sayegh allied himself with Davila’s ticket of candidates this spring and drew criticism from some African American activists for not backing Mimms.

The longest-serving member of the council, 4th Ward representative Ruby Cotton, says she thinks Mimms would be “an excellent council president.”

“I think she has very good leadership,” Cotton said of Mimms, adding that Mimms enhanced her stature by being the top vote-getter in the council election.

For several years, Paterson’s council meetings have been marred by petty infighting among elected officials. Mimms said she would like to end that.

“I’m a peacemaker,” Mimms said. “Every decision doesn’t have to be chaotic.”

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: Lilisa Mimms wants to lead City Council