Sworn-in by Mayor Andre Sayegh, his ward predecessor, Al Abdelaziz took the oath of office tonight to officially become the 6th Ward Councilman.  He becomes the youngest to serve on the Council in the city’s history, as well as it’s first Palestinian-American.

The Paterson Demcratic co-chair previously served as the Vice Chairman of the city’s Planning Board, along with Lilissa Mimms, who took a seat on the Council earlier this month after her at-large win in May.  Abdelaziz previously ran for the 6th Ward seat in 2016 in a much-watched match-up against Sayegh.  The former allies came together again during the May mayoral election, which saw Sayegh produce a 4,000 vote margin over his closest competitor, Alex Mendez, aided by Abdelaziz’s efforts in South Paterson.

The crowd of 300 at the swearing-in ceremony included the members of the City Council and a host of Passaic County Democrats, including Chairman John Currie.

Paying homage to his 6th Ward predecessors, Abdelaziz said he hopes to “honor the legacies” of Sayegh, Tom Rooney, and Frank Graves ‘not just through veneration, but through emulation’.  Pledging to work in partnership with the Mayor – his one-time foe in 2016 – and his Council colleagues to usher economic development and public safety, he said “we’ll change the culture  from ‘anything goes’ in Paterson to ‘everything grows’ in Paterson.”

Abdelaziz will run in the November special election to finish the unexpired term.