Paterson council considers filling vacant 2nd Ward seat
By Jayed Rahman
Published: July 17, 2020
Members of the City Council will consider filling the 2nd Ward seat on Tuesday night.
Municipal officials said the favorite for the seat is Gilman Choudhury, who is mostly known for running a robotics program at John F. Kennedy High School and getting high school students into Ivy League colleges.
Choudhury was among a list of candidates whose names were floated for the seat. Among the names were veteran Tony Vancheri, former councilmen Ken McDaniel and Aslon Goow, and former school board member Eddie Gonzalez.
Some even floated the names of former councilmen Shahin Khalique and Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman. Neither Khalique nor Akhtaruzzaman had enough votes to claim the 2nd Ward seat after the May 12 election.
Both men were tied after three recounts.
Khalique and Akhtaruzzaman also wanted the appointment for themselves. But the City Council has always held – except for the case of the 6th Ward appointment two years ago – that anyone who is appointed to a vacancy avoids running for that seat during the special election.
Choudhury has reached out to both Khalique and Akhtaruzzaman, according to sources, so as to not cause offense. All three men hail from the city’s growing Bangladeshi-American community.
If appointed, Choudhury would serve as the 2nd Ward councilman for approximately five months.
A special election is scheduled for November.
Council members will consider filling the vacancy on Tuesday night.
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