Republican Jones Wins in Scotch Plains

Newcomer Llewellyn Jones (R) has defeated incumbent Lou Beckerman (D) in Scotch Plains. Jones won by 816 votes. 

Tallies: Total, Percent of Votes Cast
Jones: 3590 (56.4 %)
Beckerman: 2774 (43.6 %)

"I think we ran a very issues oriented campaign," said Jones where a happy crowd was gathered at the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad. "We talked a lot about the budget. We talked a lot about funding priorities, where our priorities are like the library. I think we have a big challenge on our hands as we look forward to next year. The two-percent cap is a big challenge and we know we have a substantial but not insurmountable hole for next year’s budget."

Jones also pointed to other priorities for the new year, such as downtown revitalization and possibly restarting the Scotch Plains Improvement District. 

"We have a lot of other important issues to tackle, such as the police merger," said Jones. "We have a lot of important appointments to make and service providers to hire." 

Councilman Bo Vastine, the only Republican on council currently, was ecstatic about the win. 

"Obviously we're very excited about the results of the election, but we kind of temper that excitement and enthusiasm with the fact that we know that we've got a lot of budget issues that we've got to deal with next year, based on the things that were done this year," said Vastine. "So we're very excited, we wish Lou Beckerman well, but we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us and we are grateful that the voters trust us to take care of these tough issues."

Just down the road at Scotch Plains Democratic Headquarters on Second Street, the mood was just the opposite. Yet, Beckerman seemed upbeat and promised to run again next year. 

"I have to thank everyone who made a telephone call or put up a lawn sign or made a contribution," said Beckerman to a room full of supporters. "I've got to tell you that if Christie wasn't on top of the ticket the result would be different. I'm concerned. I'm concerned the police merger is in jeopardy. The only way it's going to happen is a joint meeting structure, which my opponent doesn't believe in. I think the library funding issue was nonsense and I tried not to politicize it."

The crowd cheered as Beckerman announced, "And we will run again. We're not going to stop now."