Paterson, a city in New Jersey, elected its first Middle Eastern mayor! Paterson is New Jersey’s third largest city with a population of 147,000 people. Lebanese André Sayegh, who is a politician and New Jersey’s council president, won the election on Tuesday and defeated five rivals. He clinched the victory with 8,559 ballots. “This victory is not about one person. It’s about one Paterson,” said Sayegh in front of several hundred supporters Tuesday night, according to
. This was his third attempt to win the mayoral election. He ran third and second the elections in 2010 and 2012, respectively. These are some of his priorities:
- Construction of a state-of-the-art visitors’ center at the Great Falls national park.
- Work to push the Silk City’s population count higher than 150,000 so that it could qualify as a “city of the first class.” This would increase grant opportunities which could greatly benefit the city.
- Reinforcing security by adding foot patrols and supporting the narcotics unit
- Drive economic development
Sayegh earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Seton Hall University. He received his Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University. Congratulations!