Pearland social media posts kick up dirt in city election campaign

A screenshot from a video of Pearland Position 3 candidate J. Darnell Jones and a volunteer in the Banbury Cross neighborhood. A screenshot from a video of Pearland Position 3 candidate J. Darnell Jones and a volunteer in the Banbury Cross neighborhood. Photo: Christine/Vimeo Photo: Christine/Vimeo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Pearland social media posts kick up dirt in city election campaign 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Nextdoor post regarding a candidate for Pearland City Council has caused a social media dispute between the candidate and a Pearland resident.

According to the post, a Pearland resident on Nextdoor was concerned about neighborhood security after two men were caught on video knocking on her door on Saturday, April 29.

Pearland Position 3 candidate J. Darnell Jones later said the men in question were himself and a volunteer. In the video posted on Vimeo.com, Jones can be seen wearing a campaign shirt with his name on the front.

Jones responded to the post on Monday, May 1, on Facebook. He responded once again on Tuesday.

"This is EXACTLY why diversity and cultural sensitivity training is needed for all city employees and recommended for citizens who would like to get over there prejudices and racial biases.This is ME and a volunteer in this "crime alert" photo. A few reasons this is problematic:

1. Local elections are taking place and we are in an early voting period, so folks will knock on your door in support of candidates.

2. My name shows and obviously someone knew it was me, so why a crime alert before contacting my campaign?

3. What scared her about us??? I remove my sunglasses before ringing anyone's doorbell so this is NOT what she would have seen when looking out her door."

He also implied that his opponent, incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Gary Moore, could be trying to hurt the campaign and accused Moore of being racially insensitive.

"To me it's nasty, to say the least," Jones told Chron.com on Tuesday.

Moore campaign manager Jacquie Baly said the incumbent knew nothing of the Nextdoor post until the rest of the community became aware of it.

"I really don't understand where they're coming from," she said of Jones' posts, adding that Moore is not racially insensitive. She said she's run campaigns for Moore before, and "this is the first time anyone's tried to take an angle like this."