Councilman Andre Sayegh’s supporters — Bill Pascrell III, Keith Furlong, and Ed Farmer — are hosting a $1,000 per ticket cocktail party fundraiser for their candidate. Their effort received criticism from supporters of councilman William McKoy.

McKoy’s supporters spent the weekend circulating the invite with emblazoned red text that read, “Paterson not for sale.” This is the same cry that was heard four years ago when Sayegh finished second place behind former mayor Jose “Joey” Torres.

“It’s just a replay of the last election,” said activist Ernest Rucker. He is supporting McKoy in next month’s six-person mayoral race. “When you have thousand-dollar plate dinners, somebody wants something.”

Rucker said outside interest is buying access to a possible Sayegh administration. Sayegh dismissed the criticism coming from McKoy’s side.

“This is the height of hypocrisy,” said Sayegh. He said McKoy has held out-of-town fundraisers. McKoy’s campaign has a fundraiser scheduled for Saturday at the Hollywood Blue Ribbon Restaurant in Hillside.

Contributions range from $500 to $2,600. Suggested contribution is $100-$250, according to a notice of the fundraiser.

Rucker pointed out Pascrell, who is the son of congressman Bill Pascrell is a major New Jersey lobbyist. When asked if the contributors will be buying access to a possible future administration, Sayegh replied, “Not at all. You have to raise money to get your message out.”

Sayegh’s fundraiser is scheduled for Apr. 11, 2018 at the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne.

Sayegh has the largest campaign warchest of the six men running for the city’s highest office:

• Sayegh raised $105,348. He has $89,400 on hand.
• Councilman McKoy raised $100,105. He has $5,100 on hand, according to his campaign finance filings.
• Former school board member Pedro Rodriguez raised $76,200. He has $35,500 on hand.
• Councilman Alex Mendez raised $36,705. His campaign’s closing balance was $151, according to his campaign finance filings.
• There were no state campaign finance filings from councilman Michael Jackson.
• There were no state campaign finance filings from councilman Alex Cruz.

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This bulletin is part of a series of brief reports on the Paterson mayoral race. Read all our reporting on the Paterson mayoral election by clicking here.