Jose Torres

At Large Councilman Jeffrey Jones 

PATERSON - Ward races will dominate the polling places tomorrow on Election Day, and one person who will watch the results come in but does not expect any surprises is At-Large Councilman Jeffrey Jones.

Jones already has his sights on 2010, and whatever happens Tuesday will not interfere with his plans.

"I have every intention of running for mayor," says Jones, a 50-year old native Patersonian who was first elected to the council in 1996.

PATERSON - Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale jumped intoCouncilman Aslon Goow Paterson municipal politics over the weekend, publicly endorsing Ward 2 Councilman Aslon Goow, chair of the council's public safety committee and a vocal critic of Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres.

Speziale's picture and declaration of confidence appeared on a Goow mail piece that hits the streets in Ward 2.

"Goow is the only (council) candidate the sheriff is endorsing," said Goow campaign spokesman Ryan Yacco. 

Yacco says the endorsement is significant, particulalry in the Hillcrest section of the ward.

A two-term concilman, Goow is running against John Larko and Elizabeth Rosado.

Rosado has  the public support of Mayor Torres.   

Ward 5 Councilman Juan TorresPATERSON - In a bruising re-election battle, two-term Ward 5 Councilman Juan Torres personally went to the campaign headquarters of challenger Julio Tavarez over the weekend warning his rivals to stay away from his street signs.

"They must be scared," Torres said of the Tavarez campaign.

An ally of Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres, the councilman said that Tavarez partisans removed 14 of his signs in the competitive ward.

Tavarez today was gearing up for his campaign’s "victory rally," where the council candidate intends to prepare his troops to take to the streets tomorrow on Election Day.

Paterson Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres 

PATERSON - Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres has not publicly endorsed anyone for city council, but today he said he may get into the Ward 2 tousle if he feels it becomes a matter of having to punch back.

"As the highest vote-getter in the last two elections, I hope most people are with me," said Torres, who on Saturday appeared at the Great Falls with U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8).

Ward Two Councilman Aslon Goow and ally Millie Mulero

PATERSON - Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres and Councilman Aslon Goow live close to each other in the same ward but they're hardly close friends. Their long-time rivalry has made them enemies and defines the city's political landscape.

This year as Goow, a private eye and Paterson native, is trying to win a third term on the council, and his opponents are either in Torres’s camp or champion the mayor’s issues.

Goow, the Ward Two Councilman, needs to defeat Elizabeth Gonzalez and John Larko to keep his seat, but he is nursing his own ambition to be mayor.