New Dominican political group forms in Paterson and aims to boost voter registration

PATERSON — Leaders of the city’s Dominican community formed a new nonprofit organization last week to have a greater impact on politics in Paterson and surrounding towns.

The group, which calls itself the Dominican American Political Force of New Jersey, plans to run a voter registration drive starting in the spring and will hold screening sessions for endorsing candidates in Paterson’s upcoming ward elections, its leaders said.

“We want the Dominican community to be part of the political process,” said one of the group’s founders, Miguel Diaz. “We’ve been left out for too long.”

When did the group convene?

Diaz said he convened a meeting of 28 prominent Paterson-area Dominicans in early December after the November election continued the trend of the city’s Latino community being underrepresented in local elected offices.

Census data shows that more than 70% of Paterson’s 156,000 residents are Hispanic, including about 44,000 people of Dominican heritage. But just three of Paterson’s nine City Council seats and four of its nine Board of Education slots are held by people with Latino cultural backgrounds.

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Organizers of the new Dominican group talked about emulating the success of the city’s Black community in local politics.

“We feel grateful to the African American community, because what they’ve done has benefited all minority groups,” said Eddy Olivares, a former Paterson school board member who is part of the Dominican political group.

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Organizers seek to register 5,000 voters

The Dominican American Political Force group received its incorporation certificate from the New Jersey Treasury Department on Wednesday. Organizers said their goal is to register 5,000 voters by the November 2024 election.

Victor Urbaez, a Paterson attorney who is one of the new group’s trustees, said the screening process for council elections will be based on candidates’ positions on issues.

“We’re not going to back somebody just because they’re Dominican,” Urbaez said. “We want to know what you stand for.”

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson, NJ: Dominican political group pushes voter registration