PATERSON - Somebody here probably would have cued the Stephen J. Cannell soundtrack for the old A-Team TV series but for the Latin rhythms more than capably pumping through speakers, complete with cowboy hats, string ties and boots visuals in support of Mayor Andre Sayegh and his allies, Council President Lilisa Mimms and Councilwoman Maritza Davila.

Going for a history-making third term as mayor, Sayegh, joined onstage by Mimms, and Davila, packed Bocaditos with friends and allies at a rally tonight that underscored Dominican love.

"She made us politically possible," Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz (D-35) told InsiderNJ as he wrapped an arm around Elsa Mantilla, who opposed Sayegh when he ran for the Ward 6 council seat and now counts herself a strong ally. Abdelaziz and Sayegh jousted in the past too, with the former also challenging Sayegh for the council seat only to ultimately join forces when Sayegh became mayor in 2018 and Abdelaziz grabbed the vacant council seat. Now Councilman Ibrahim Omar serves Ward 6, and he was here too, happily backing the "Team You can Trust."

"Tonight, I feel that victory is in the air because I look in this room and all I see are winners and in 33 days we'll be lifting our hands in the air and declaring victory for the City of Paterson," Sayegh told the crowd. "I am really encouraged that yes we have restored integrity to City Hall."

"You're going to hear all the detractors but we're going to focus on the positive," said Abdelaziz, who was flipping channels the other night and saw Hinchliffe Stadium featured on a national TV program. "Never in a million years growing up in did I think that stadium would be on national TV."

First elected mayor in 2018 and reelected in 2022, Sayegh - himself a long-suffering New York Mets fan - long saw Hinchliffe, which sits on an outcropping above the 77-foot falls and a statue of Paterson's founder Alexander Hamilton - as a cornerstone of his city's rebirth. In 2023, the mayor formally unveiled the $100 million renovation project at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

"It is true," said Davila. "You have to understand. The mayor can't do anything without a working council. You need partnerships. Relationships matter."

That theme ran throughout the event as Councilwoman (and former Mayor) Ruby Cotton (whose remarks brought down the house, pictured below), Councilman Shahin Khalique, and Councilman Omar all joined their colleagues onstage to lend their support in advance of the May 12th nonpartisan election.

At-Large Councilman Alex Mendez and Ward 1 Councilman Mike Jackson weren't here, of course. They're both running against Sayegh, along with former Councilman (and Khalique adversary) Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman. Mendez and Jackson, incidentally, still face unresolved charges of voter fraud, with the former due in court next week.

They're off the team, not that they wanted to be on the team, but Mimms and Davila (running in a crowded field with 14 other at-large candidates) more than happily shouldered the evening's theme.

"This has been a great experience to come together to work as a team," said the Council President. "There is no 'i' in team but there is an 'i' in win. Many people can talk about what they want to do and what they will try to do. It took a working collaboration... to get [Hinchcliffe] up and running, the parks, the river walk. River Street will be done by August. It's not about talking about what we want to do. The fact is this team has delivered."

And with that, two vaqueros jumped onstage and proceeded to deliver a rousing, mic'd up sendup as Sayegh and his allies animatedly stamped in time to the beat as they prepared to convey the mood from Bocaditos, from now through Election Day, into the Silk City streets.