Scharfenberger sworn in as Monmouth County Freeholder

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon issues the Oath of Office to Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger as his family looks on.

Freehold Township- Gerry Scharfenberger of Middletown was sworn in as a Monmouth County Freeholder on Saturday immediately after the Republican County Committee elected him by acclamation to fill the vacancy on the Board that occurred when Serena DiMaso took office in the State Assembly last month. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lunging Larry Luttrell to seek Democrat nomination for Monmouth County Freeholder

Democratic Freeholder Candidate Lawrence Luttrell at the 2014 Four Seasons debate in Manalapan. photo by Rhoda Chodosh

Larry ‘The Lunger’ Luttrell , a Democrat lawyer from Holmdel, is running for Monmouth County Freeholder for the third time, according to  report at InsiderNJ.

Luttrell earned the moniker The Lunger as a freeholder candidate in 2014.  During a debate at the Four Seasons Club House in Manalapan, Luttrell jumped from his seat and lunged towards Freeholder Lillian Burry when she asked him, “Is your name Pinocchio?” in response to a comment he made distorting her record.

This year maybe we’ll call Luttrell The Masochist because he apparently likes to be beaten.   In addition to losing his freeholder race to Burry in 2014, he lost to Serena DiMaso in 2013.  He lost a bid to be elected to the Holmdel Township Committee in 2012 and again last year.

All those beatings earned Luttrell’s wife, Renee, a five year term on the Monmouth County Tax Board. Read the rest of this entry »

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Scharfenberger and Kiley are taking nothing and no one for granted

GOP Freeholder candidates Gerry Scharfenberger and Sue Kiley in Ocean Township.

On paper they are unopposed for the Monmouth GOP nominations for freeholder to be awarded on Saturday morning at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.  But former Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley are taking no chances and are campaigning as if they were in competitive races.  Read the rest of this entry »

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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Political Predictions for 2018

National  Politics:

Defying historical trends and mainstream media polling, the Republican Party will expand its majority in the both U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.  Congressman Frank Pallone will not become a Committee Chairman.

President Donald Trump’s personal approval ratings will hover between 35-45%.  His job approval rating will exceed 50% nationally and in NJ as the economy continues to grow and as threats from ISIS and North Korea are neutralized. Read the rest of this entry »

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Curley Harassment Probe Cost $24K

Freeholder John P. Curley

The investigation into disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s harassment of Monmouth County employees cost taxpayers $24,075.00, according to documents obtained by MMM via OPRA request.

Former Acting Associate Supreme Court Justice Mary Catherine Cuff commenced the investigation by reviewing the County’s Anti-Discrimination policy on June 15, 2017, according to her invoice dated November 14, 2017.   Judge Cuff conducted four interviews in July and three interviews in August.   She spent 7.25 hours reviewing tape of Board meetings during the month of August. Read the rest of this entry »

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Curley will not have Republican support for reelection next year

John P. Curley’s harassment of Monmouth County employees which resulted in his censure and reprimand by his fellow Freeholder last week, has put the County GOP in the position of choosing two new freeholder candidates in 2018.

In a letter sent yesterday to GOP leaders and elected officials, Chairman Shaun Golden made it clear that Curley will not have the Party’s support for reelection in 2018: Read the rest of this entry »

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Middletown Ranked The Safest City In New Jersey

8th Safest Town In The Nation

Middletown Township is the safest city in New Jersey, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security’s annual Top 100 Safest Cities in America report.

NCHSS is a national trade association of home security professionals.  They’ve been ranking the safety of America’s communities since 2006 using data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report statistics and their own internal research. Their most recent study includes 764 cities with populations over 50,000 who submitted complete crime reports to the FBI. The number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 people determine the cities’ ranking.

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Middletown Township Reduces Spending and Property Taxes In 2017 Budget

Middletown Township Committee

The Middletown Township Committee will introduce a budget on Monday night that reduces Township spending by $161,459 and reduces the municipal tax rate by 3.49%

“We’ve taken a fine tooth comb to this budget in order to develop a spending plan that reduces costs without sacrificing core essential services,” said Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, Ph.D. “We consistently seek ways to further minimize costs, maximize revenues and stretch a dollar.”

For the average homeowner, municipal taxes will decrease $5.31 this year.

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Scharfenberger withdraws from LD 13 Assembly race

photo via facebook

Monmouth County GOP Chairman Shaun Golden told MMM that Middletown Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger has withdrawn as a candidate for Assembly in the 13th legislative district.

“Mayor Scharfenberger called and told me that he will not be filing a Letter of Intent,” Golden said. “Gerry is a competitor.  I appreciate what it took for him to step down for the good of the Party.  Gerry is a great mayor of one of the best run towns in the State of New Jersey.  He has a great future ahead of him.”

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, the presumptive GOP nominee for State Senate in the 13th legislative district, also said he talked to Scharfenberger.

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