Sayegh begins second term as Paterson mayor | Paterson Times Paterson Times

Sayegh begins second term as Paterson mayor

By Jayed Rahman
Published: July 5, 2022

andre-sayegh

Mayor Andre Sayegh was sworn in for his second term as mayor in an inauguration ceremony on Friday afternoon.

Longtime congressman Bill Pascrell administered the oath of office to Sayegh at International High School.

Sayegh in a 15-minute speech praised his wife and held a moment of silence for those lives claimed by Covid-19.

He boasted about his Covid-19 response, citing vaccination and contact tracing. He omitted his failures in Covid-19 testing. He also cited his administration’s work in renovating the historic Hinchliffe Stadium.

“We’re hoping, later this year, we will be cutting the ribbon at Hinchliffe Stadium,” said Sayegh.

His speech looked back at the past four years of his tenure in office.

“We’ve come a long way in these last four years,” said Sayegh. He claimed he restored “integrity,” “stability,” and “credibility” to City Hall.

Sayegh had excessively high turnover of high-ranking officials in his first four-year stint as mayor. Two sitting council members are under indictment. A dozen police officers have been charged with corruption since 2018.

Sayegh described outgoing council president Maritza Davila as a “partner in progress.” He had a tense relationship with Davila during the first two years of his administration. He repaired his ties with her last July, when she returned as council president.

“The question that needs to be asked: What’s next?” said Sayegh in concluding his speech. He did not outline a plan for his second term during the brief speech. He has kept the same team at City Hall. Observers expect little to change in Sayegh’s second term.


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