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<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; Mayor Chris Concert is known for his sense of humor and fun. This April Fool&#8217;s Day, however, Concert played a joke some took very seriously.</p><p>In a Monday Facebook post, Concert wrote: &#8220;I have decided that in 2020 I will be running as a candidate for State Representative against Aaron Kaufer. I will have a kick off rally in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. Together we can make a difference.&#8221;</p><p>When asked by the Times Leader if he would consider running, Concert texted: &#8220;Not at this time.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This has blown up,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I&#8217;m a great friend of Aaron, I&#8217;m hoping people understand it&#8217;s a joke.&#8221;</p><p>As of Monday night, 78 people had reacted to the post &#8212; 65 liked it, 11 loved it and two gave it the &#8220;wow&#8221; emoji.</p><p>Among those who responded to the post was one woman who wrote: &#8220;Ohhhh&#8230;. April Fools, right?&#8221;</p><p>Concert&#8217;s reply to her: &#8220;We will see tomorrow&#8230;..&#8221;</p><p>Formerly a councilman, Concert initially was appointed mayor in 2015 to serve out the term of Mayor Vincent Dennis, who died at the age of 84. Concert, running as an Independent, went on to be elected in his own right two years later.</p><p>Kaufer, a Republican from Kingston, was first elected in 2012. He defeated a Democratic challenger for reelection in 2016, and won a third term unopposed in 2018.</p><p>He offered a wry reply to Concert&#8217;s Facebook post when contacted Monday evening.</p><p>&#8220;I was thinking about moving to Swoyersville and running for mayor,&#8221; Kaufer wrote in a text message. &#8220;My mother does live there after all.&#8221;</p><p>Concert had a response for that, too.</p><p>&#8220;If Aaron Kaufer ran for mayor I would vote for him,&#8221; Concert said.</p><p>In fact, Concert said he had spoken with Kaufer and assured him that the post was indeed a joke.</p><p>&#8220;If Aaron Kaufer decided not to run? Well yes, then I would consider jumping in,&#8221; Concert said. &#8220;But I would never run against Aaron. He&#8217;s a respectable man and has done wonders for the Borough of Swoyersville.&#8221;</p><p>Rather, Concert explained, this year&#8217;s joke was his attempt to top last year&#8217;s well-publicized effort.</p><p>On April 1 last year, Concert redecorated his Luzerne Borough photo studio as the &#8216;Pooper Scooper Ice Cream Shop,&#8217; complete with grinning poop emojis atop waffle cones.</p><p>Still, Concert said many people accepted the Facebook post at face value, despite the date.</p><p>&#8220;My phone was ringing off the hook, including Republicans and Democrats,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kaufer </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_townhall-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kaufer </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL050515SwoyersvilleCouncil_2-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Concert </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL050515SwoyersvilleCouncil_2-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Concert </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Swoyersville&#8217;s Concert says Facebook message was a joke</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis and Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Swoyersville mayor makes April 1 splash with mock campaign post