Targets of Negative Fliers Hope Recount Puts Them on Top

A native of India who lost a bid for a township committee seat by 12 votes after fliers accused him and his running mate of accepting contributions from “foreign nationals” is hoping that a recount will reverse the outcome.

A recount takes place Monday in the race pitting Zaheer Jan and Allen Mass against two Republican incumbents in the race for two seats on the township committee. The top two finishers will win.

Jan lost by 12 votes out of more than 8,100 cast -- and Mass, a fellow Democrat, lost by a single vote.

The night before the election, virtually every home in Bedminster received a flier from the campaigns of Republican incumbents Don Cross and Kurt Joerger claiming that Jan and Mass were being funded by “foreign nationals, not local residents.”

Jan and Mass have said they have not taken contributions from foreigners, which is against the law. Mass, an attorney, said the fliers were racist.

Jan, a native of India who grew up in Pakistan but is a U.S. citizen, said he believed that the ploy was an attempt to associate him with terrorism. “My name sounds foreign and I could be linked to the dark forces going around the world,” he said.

Cross, who is deputy mayor, said the race was nasty and personal. He did not address his allegations that the Democrats took foreign contributions.