Alex Mendez wins in Paterson’s 3rd Ward recount
By Jayed Rahman
Published: December 28, 2020
Councilman Alex Mendez won in the 3rd Ward election recount on Monday. He widened his lead over former councilman William McKoy from 9 to 13 votes.
Mendez had 3,739 votes and McKoy had 3,726 after the long recount.
“Now, we’re winning by 13 votes. It was finished this afternoon, finally,” said Mendez. “I really, really hope this is the end of this.”
McKoy could not be reached for comments.
Mendez (pictured) was sworn in to represent the 3rd Ward last month.
Both men had battled each other for the 3rd Ward race in May that was marred by voter fraud. Mendez was charged with voter and election fraud. A judge barred him from taking office and ordered a fresh election on November 3.
Mendez defeated McKoy a second time last month.
McKoy has not made any allegations of voter fraud in the November race. He has argued there were issues with vote tabulations when he filed for the recount.
McKoy is likely to contest the election results in court, according to sources.
“There’s been three recounts and two elections. So what else do they want?” remarked Mendez. “I’m not afraid of that. We’re going win again. Maybe with more votes.”
McKoy has not filed any papers in court as of late Monday.
Email: [email protected]