Scharfenberger running for DiMaso’s freeholder seat, Kiley seeking GOP nomination for full freeholder term
Sue Kiley and Gerry Scharfenberger are likely GOP running mates for Monmouth County Freeholder
Middletown Township Committeeman Gerry Scharfenberger is the only declared candidate for the Monmouth County Freeholder seat vacated by Serena DiMaso taking office as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. The Monmouth County Republican County Committee is scheduled to fill the vacancy in a special election/convention on February 3 at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.
Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley is seeking the GOP nomination for the full freeholder term of the seat currently held by disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley. That nomination is will also be awarded on February 3. Kiley is the only known candidate circulating petitions for the nomination as required by the Party By-Laws.
Assuming he is elected on February 3, Scharfenberger will resign from the Middletown Township governing body. He will be eligible to be sworn in as a freeholder upon County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon certifying his election.
Scharfenberger has served on the Middletown Township Committee since 2005. He served six years as Mayor and two years as Deputy Mayor. A PhD in Archaeology, Scharfenberger is an adjunct professor at Monmouth University. He is the Acting Director of the NJ Business Action Center and the Director of the State Office for Planning Advocacy, a position he is expected to retain for the foreseeable future in the Murphy Administration.
A registered nurse, Kiley retired from her corporate job as V.P. of Sales for a major healthcare company in 2013. She is currently the business administrator of the OLPH-St. Agness Roman Catholic Parish in Atlantic Highlands. First elected in to the Hazlet Township Committee in 2014, she served as Mayor last year and is doing her second stint as Deputy Mayor this year. She was reelected in 2017 with 57% of the vote.
Curley will not have the Monmouth GOP nomination for reelection. He was Censured and Reprimanded by his fellow Republican freeholders last month for sexually harassing County Employees and other atrocious behavior. Curley has not yet declared his intentions for the coming election. His options are 1) seek the Democrat nomination for freeholder; 2) challenge Kiley in the GOP primary; 3) file to run as an Independent; 4) or not run.
Curley has thus far resisted calls for his resignation.
More from my site
Curley will not have Republican support for reelection next year
Curley Harassment Probe Cost $24K
Scharfenberger and Kiley are taking nothing and no one for granted
Scharfenberger sworn in as Monmouth County Freeholder
Curley says he won’t challenge Kiley in the primary, might run as an Independent
Monmouth GOP releases video calling on Curley to resign
Lillian Burry will be Freeholder Director in 2017
Hazlet Mayor Sue Kiley Endorses O’Scanlon, Handlin and DiMaso in LD 13
Lillian Burry says John Curley threatened her
DiMaso Endorses Impreveduto For Freeholder
… a strong team. Dr. Scharfenberger is a strong choice, a mature steady leader. Kiley has strong credentials in Hazlet; it’s also important that Curley’s replacement be a woman. Much as I dislike “group” politics, our party needs a clean break from Curley’s frat-boy antics. (Frat-boy, with a touch of the naughty pilot from the movie “Airplane”.)
a person with county- wide name I.D. to run for Curley’s seat. (McMorrow, Rich, French, Barham, etc.) A past winner would enhance the good choice of Scharfenberger, for two wins.) Whatever happens, 2018 is going to be at least as difficult to win in, as 2017 was- if not for Lillian Burry running, we may have lost one, or even both, county seats last year-it is just the plain truth- we know LD 11 and many municipalities fell badly,in the anti- Christie wave. Whatever can be done to engage more new people, and, to remind these municipal chairs and clubs to get much more active and involved as their duty, must be prominent, in all party actions, this year: we cannot afford to “squeak by,” and expect to stay in charge of our county. God knows, as this new governor dumps more taxes and spending on NJ, more Dems will flee here, and it is only a matter of time before their bad voting habits take away what we all have loved about this county! Word to the wise!
wow….shocker! who ever saw this tea, coming? (yeah right). This has been in works for a long time. two nice people but don’t anyone act like this has not been set for months and others have been encouraged to sit out as the decision was made for these 2. just shows county committee is for show and is a waste as powers that be make these picks. we should have seen if jen beck or caroline could have been recruited. that’s a winning team if we had those two.
that very few have the stomach to fight, any more: either beaten down, afraid of repercussions, tired, or simply do not care enough – whatever is placed before them, they accept, and whatever happens, happens. This will continue until we lose the county, then many will wake up- by then, it may be too late…
Lots of shoes yet to drop. Just wait until we start coming forward!
I bet we’ll see 2-3 more candidates come out now. And no way Curley goes down without a fight and taking MANY with him. Ouch
At least as county committee people we have something to be excited about. I’ve been on county committee in both rumson and middletown. i’ve gotten to know both Sue and Gerry, they are far and away the best. We’ve recently seen politicians such like Amy Handlin and Gary Rich who are invisible (the idle public servants). They never show up to any public event and you only hear from them for about 10 minutes at election time. Sue and Gerry work 7 days a week as mayor’s. They attend every community and party event and show their support for everybody. I don’t know how they have the energy but it’s a big county so they’re going to need it. Very excited to vote for them both at convention. Democrats will run for the hills—go get em!
who have spotless backgrounds, and measurable records on qualifications, service, and ability to win, come foreword- without recriminations, and present themselves to the entire county committee. And, let their records, service, and presentations speak for themselves, and let people vote with their brains and hearts, as to how best to WIN the two important seats, for our party and county, this November!
may we use political reality and instinct, rather than emotions, or who is “cooler” today, or in a”club,” or the latest whim, or flash in the pan- there is no room for error, this year: how more emphatic and plain can one be, to get through?
Rich or French, absolutely! But McMorrow or Barham? No way. Barbara was a wishy washy mealymouth when she was a freeholder. Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to Barb. And Barham? Are you serious? His nickname was “Bully Barham.” Remember? He would be just as bad as Curley, only without the creepiness. On top of that, he was friendly with the McKenna/DuPont gang in Red Bank.
Like John said at the re-org: If you pick a fight with a Curley, your going to lose.
Golden better be prepared for the Curley offensive!
that is exactly the type of serious discussion I am talking about. ( was kind of sure Bill would receive that type of reaction,) but this is what “culling” candidates entails. Glad to hear all thoughts, and not surprised to hear there will be a scorched earth type of reaction from JC and friends: agree the org needs to be prepared for eventualities, going forward.
@ don’t underestimate Curley. Enough with the nonsense of “fighting.” I have always been a big supporter of John. But he has put the Republicans in a very difficult position. He has damaged himself as an official and the candidate with these very serious allegations. What’s worse he has neither addressed them nor denied them. In the current climate in the country he would be destroyed if he were the candidate. It’s not a matter of fighting it’s a matter of owning up to the situation that he himself has created and doing the right thing for the party and stepping aside. When you have employees coming forward it is beyond politics it is serious, legal trouble he is in