Andre Sayegh ran for mayor of Paterson twice (2010 and 2014) and twice lost, and now he’s running again and Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-35) says he’s in a good position to win.

“He’s a high quality person, and he’s tenacious,” said Wimberly, who’s known Sayegh since 1996 and formally endorsed him today. “I believe he has the ability to unite Paterson. A lot of people I’ve known have lost and you never see them again. Andre – he just keeps coming.”

A high school football coach who famously turned future Super Bowl champ Victor Cruz into a wide receiver, the Assemblyman – at the prompting of InsiderNJ – considered a sports metaphor for Sayegh and – almost instantaneously – didn’t choose a football reference.

“Andre is Bartolo Colon,” said Wimberly of the near-45 year-old MLB pitcher who earlier this month took a perfect game into the 8th inning against the World champion Astros.

It’s an interesting  and – it could be argued – political pick.

Colon is a Dominican sports hero, and, in the local political rivalry of the year, Sayegh is running against a Dominican, At-Large Councilman Alex Mendez.