Park says she’s prepared for primary against challenger with same last name

Assemblywoman Ellen Park (D-Englewood Cliffs) is seeking re-election, and she faces a challenge that appears to be unique among Assembly candidates next year: how to separate oneself from an opponent with the same last name.

Park and her running mate, Assemblywoman Shama Haider (D-Tenafly), are both seeking third terms next year, but they face a primary challenge from two Steven Fulop-backed candidates, including Tenafly Councilman Dan Park. Assemblywoman Park said she believes her strong record will help her cross the finish line.

“I’ve been doing this for three, four years, and I feel like I’ve passed a lot of great legislation,” she told the New Jersey Globe.

State leaders announced a plan Thursday to move the election to June 10.

Ellen Park and Dan Park are both Korean American.

In the first Assembly primary year without the line in decades, a favorable designation as a party designee won’t be available to help incumbents cruise to re-election. Assemblywoman Park said she plans to knock on doors and tout her record in the coming campaign.

“I think we’re really going to have to emphasize my first name,” she said.

This has happened before: in 1995, Republican Assemblyman John V. Kelly (R-Nutley) defeated Democrat John W. Kelly, a former Belleville Zoning Board member.