Nellie Pou

PATERSON — Mayor Andre Sayegh, as he decides whether to run for reelection as mayor or try for Congress, collected $92,410 in political contributions during the past three months, his latest campaign finance report shows.

The Friends of Andre Sayegh committee had $201,332 in the bank as of the end of September, the mayor’s recent finance report showed. That’s almost twice as much money as any of his opponents spent in the 2018 and 2022 mayoral elections, contests that Sayegh won by substantial margins.

Although Sayegh will have a commanding fundraising advantage if he sets his sights on returning to City Hall in Paterson’s upcoming May election, the mayor would be far behind Rep. Nellie Pou if he opted to take her on in New Jersey’s 9th District congressional primary in June.

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Pou’s staff recently announced that she has $1.1 million in her campaign war chest. The federal super PAC connected to Sayegh reported having about $150,000 at the end of June.

Sayegh supporters said they expect that if he takes on Pou he would be able to close the fundraising gap with support through national groups like the Arab America Foundation, an organization that has featured the Paterson mayor as guest speaker at several events in recent years.

The Federal Election Commission places restrictions on candidates’ ability to transfer money from state campaign funds to federal accounts.

Biggest donor is developer Charles Florio

Sayegh’s most recent New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission report, made public by state officials on Oct. 15, showed that the mayor’s biggest donor from July through September was Charles Florio, his longtime political ally and Paterson's most prolific housing developer.

Two of Florio’s companies, Primetime Construction and Ania Management, contributed $5,000 apiece for Sayegh’s golf outing event in September at the Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg.

About 80 other individuals and businesses made donations to Sayegh, including numerous lawyers, engineers and contractors that do business in Paterson.

The expenditure side of Sayegh’s quarterly campaign finance report showed that the mayor made nominal contributions to candidates and Democratic committees in seven towns outside of Paterson: Elmwood Park, Hawthorne, Lodi, Passaic, Ridgefield, Rochelle Park and Woodland Park.

All but one of those towns are in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District, where Sayegh is contemplating making a run. Political insiders said Sayegh’s donations to candidates from outside Paterson is one way he has been trying to build support for a congressional bid.

The $201,332 that Sayegh has in his city campaign fund almost matches the $214,322 he had at this point in 2021 before his second successful run for mayor.

Councilman Michael Jackson, who lost to Sayegh in the 2018 and 2022 elections, is planning to run again next year. Jackson shrugged off the size of the mayor’s current campaign account.

“He’s going to need a lot more than that, and he’s still going to lose,” Jackson said.

Jackson said developers from outside Paterson will be supporting Sayegh because “he paved the way for them.” The councilman has frequently accused Sayegh of selling out Paterson’s best interests.

The mayor did not respond when asked about his most recent finance report. A federal super PAC, Citizens4NJProgress, did polling last month to see how Sayegh would do if he took on Pou. The PAC has not released the results of those polls.