PATERSON – Local PBA Prez Alex Cruz attempted this morning to defend himself against a gnawing residency issue.

“My name is Alex Cruz,” the candidate declared, flanked by allies on the steps of City Hall. “I am a

mayoral candidate for the City of Paterson.”

But the fact that he pays taxes outside the city, where his children go to school, has hounded him in a competitive contest, and this morning he tried to stare down the issue.

“Paterson is my home,” he declared. “I was born here, raised here, went to school here and spent my entire adult life serving the good, decent and honorable citizens of the City of Paterson.”

He packed his family up and left town early in the millennium in part owing to what he cited as the city’s corrupt politics. At immense hardship to himself and his family, he said, he moved into the city as a solo act in 2016.

Of course, questions remain.

In the videos below, Paterson Times reporter Jayed Rahman confronts Cruz on the  central issue of the candidate’s residency.

For more on the developing Paterson Mayor’s Race, please go here and here .