Keeping up with the Joneses can be confusing when it comes to voting this fall in South River.
So says a borough councilman, who is concerned that voters will be confused when they cast their ballots in the upcoming municipal election.
“I feel that people aren’t really informed as to which Jones they are voting for in November,” said Councilman James Jones, who was not nominated by his party to seek another term.
Jones was elected to council in 2012 along with fellow Democrat Shawn Haussermann.
Jones, who shares a last name with Democratic council candidate Ryan Jones, feels that campaign literature released by the Democrats does not make a distinction between the two.
“I kind of think it’s like we’re playing the old shell game … and they’re shuffling the coconut shells,” said the incumbent.
According to the Tele Koukourdelis, chairman of the South River Democratic Organization, Jones’s accusations are an attempt to distract from the real issues.
“The first thing people do when they are not given the nod, [they] always say it is a political attack.”
According to James Jones, the reason he was not chosen to run as a Democrat was because he did not follow the party line on certain issues.
“I was not in line with all the wishes and ideals of the party when it came to political appointments,” he said.
Koukourdelis said the decision on whom to choose as party line candidates is not made by just one person. “Even as an incumbent, you are not guaranteed a seat,” he said, adding that candidates are chosen through a screening committee whose members felt that James Jones no longer represents what the party stands for.
“Our town is not meant to be run like a business, we have to put residents first,” said Koukourdelis.
He rejected James Jones’s accusation that the party is trying to trick residents by running a candidate with the same last name.
“Our goal is not to have them think Jim is our candidate. Our goal is to get Ryan’s name out there,” Koukourdelis said.
The only campaign materials that do not specify the candidate’s first name, he said, are on “items with limited space” such as pens.
“We’re running an honest campaign based upon real issues that are important to our residents. Comments such as this are an attempt to distract us from the message of our campaign of fewer fees and regulation, a more family friendly town, and improving programs for all residents including seniors and children,” Ryan Jones said.
“The comment is particularly strange when my photo is attached to every piece of campaign literature we put out and our last name is one of the most common English names,” said Ryan Jones in an email.
He and incumbent Haussermann are running for two open council seats in November.
The Democrats are also running a candidate, Thomas Roselli, to challenge incumbent Mayor John Krenzel.
According to James Jones, the South River Republicans offered him the opportunity to run for a council seat in November, but he turned them down.
“Right now I’m thinking I’m going to take a step back and take a year off,” said James Jones, whose term in up at the end of the year. During this break, Jones said he is considering running in the future as a Republican.
James Jones served the council previously for a term before resigning in 2000 citing personal reasons.