Paterson mayor headed into Election Day with big financial edge over challengers

Joe Malinconico
·2 min read
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PATERSON — Mayor Andre Sayegh had more than $250,000 left in his campaign war chest heading into May, after spending about $150,000 on his reelection bid during April, according to finance reports filed with the state.

Sayegh continues to hold a massive financial advantage in the mayor’s race, with eight times more money in the bank than his four rivals combined, according to campaign finance reports that candidates filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) on April 29. The reports were made public on Thursday.

Election Day in New Jersey's third biggest city is May 10, but early voting stations will be open for three days starting on Friday.

Councilman Alex Mendez spent about $24,600 on his mayoral campaign in April and had about $11,000 left in the bank, according to his most recent report.

Paterson Mayor, Andre Sayegh gives the State of the City address at city hall on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Paterson Mayor, Andre Sayegh gives the State of the City address at city hall on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022.

Former councilman Aslan Goow spent about $12,000 on his mayoral bid in April and had about $18,600 left, his report said.

Councilman Luis Velez has filed a sworn statement that he would not spend more than $5,800 on his campaign, while the ELEC website shows that Councilman Michael Jackson has not filed either of the two pre-election finance reports that were due in April.

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Sayegh has said his success in getting campaign contributions reflects people’s approval of the job he has done as mayor the past four years. His rivals say the donations come from “special interests” to whom they accuse Sayegh of selling out the city.

The mayor's biggest April expenditure was $85,860 to Gateway Media of Haledon for media and internet campaign work, according to his report. He also spent $5,879 on lawn signs and billboards and made numerous payments to campaign workers.

Mendez spent $8,446 for a campaign event at the Brownstone banquet hall on April 14, almost $9,000 for lawn signs and billboards and $2,447 on flyers and palm cards.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ Mayor Sayegh has $250K campaign finance edge in election