Democracy in Action: Paterson Residents Help Shape the Future at Two Mayoral Forums

Watch a video recap and view our photo album of the 2026 Mayoral Forum on Community & Economic Development

Watch the candidates’ closing remarks and view our photo album from the 2026 PYC Mayoral Forum on Youth

With Paterson’s mayoral election fast approaching, residents across generations recently gathered at NJCDC’s Great Falls Youth Center for two major candidate forums designed to elevate community voices and examine the issues shaping the city’s future.

Over one pivotal week, NJCDC helped host two distinct but interconnected conversations: the Paterson Youth Council Mayoral Forum on Youth on April 20, followed by the Mayoral Forum on Community Economic Development on April 22.

These events reinforced NJCDC’s role as both a leading community development organization and a key facilitator of civic dialogue in Paterson.

Youth Voices Lead the Conversation

On April 20, more than 60 attendees filled our Great Falls Youth Center as NJCDC’s Paterson Youth Council hosted its quadrennial mayoral forum focused on youth.

Founded by NJCDC in 2006, our Paterson Youth Council (PYC) ensures that young people are not merely spoken for — they speak for themselves. Each year, youth members strengthen their leadership skills through programming centered on civic participation, educational advancement, financial literacy, and service. Every four years, that mission becomes especially visible through a candidate forum that places Paterson’s future leaders directly before one of their most important audiences: the city’s youth.

This year’s forum featured First Ward Councilman Michael Jackson and Third Ward Councilman Alex Mendez, both of whom spent nearly two hours answering direct questions crafted and delivered by Paterson youth themselves.

The youth moderators led an evening defined by thoughtful, pointed questions on the realities they and their peers face every day. Candidates were challenged on issues including public safety, recreation, school quality, homelessness, food insecurity, and the concrete steps each would take to improve life for Paterson’s young people.

Throughout the discussion, candidates outlined differing approaches to improving youth safety, educational opportunity, recreation, and long-term quality of life for Paterson’s next generation.

“The Paterson Youth Council is about more than leadership development — it’s about ensuring young people understand that their voices matter right now,” said NJCDC Chief Program Officer David Gelman. “When Paterson youth ask direct questions about safety, education, opportunity, and their future, they are actively shaping the kind of city they want to inherit.”

One reality emerged clearly: Paterson’s youth are informed stakeholders demanding solutions.

Expanding the Lens to Community Economic Development

Just two days later, NJCDC once again opened our youth center as a forum for civic dialogue, this time in partnership with fellow nonprofit leaders from St. Paul’s CDC, Habitat for Humanity, Oasis, and Eva’s Village.

The Mayoral Forum on Community Economic Development, a collaborative tradition of prior mayoral election cycles, broadened the conversation beyond youth issues to the larger structural realities affecting Paterson residents citywide.

This forum featured three mayoral candidates — incumbent Mayor Andre Sayegh, Councilman Michael Jackson, and Councilman Alex Mendez — and provided one of the election season’s most comprehensive public discussions on Paterson’s economic and community future.

Candidates presented contrasting visions for Paterson’s future, debating redevelopment, housing, public safety, municipal accountability, and strategies for creating more equitable economic opportunity. Affordable housing, quality of life, and equitable redevelopment emerged as central concerns, reinforcing how deeply economic growth is tied to residents’ daily realities.

Where the Youth Council forum focused on the next generation’s experience, this second forum examined the broader systems that will determine whether that generation can actually thrive here.

Together, nonprofit hosts emphasized that community development extends beyond physical infrastructure — it is about creating systems in which residents can safely live, work, grow, and prosper.

A Civic Hub for Paterson’s Future

Over one pivotal week, NJCDC’s Great Falls Youth Center stood at the center of critical civic dialogue, bringing residents together to engage directly in shaping Paterson’s future. By hosting both youth-centered and community-wide mayoral forums, NJCDC created meaningful opportunities for Paterson residents across generations to directly engage with those seeking to lead their city.

The week underscored how deeply Paterson residents — from youth leaders to nonprofit advocates — are invested in shaping their city’s future.

As election day approaches, NJCDC remains proud to foster the programs, partnerships, and civic spaces that empower residents and strengthen Paterson through resident empowerment, leadership development, and community partnership.