Insider NJ: A Political Test for Murphy: The Scharfenberger Imbroglio

Last week  Insider NJ published this little tidbit about whether or not Governor Murphy will cut loose follow Middletowner, Gerry Scharfenberger from his job as Director of Planning for the State of New Jersey.  Evidently Gerry wants to keep his job, but seeing how it was a political appointment to begin with I doubt he has much of a chance keeping his $95K a year position.

And when taking into consideration that he is a Republican in a Democratic administration, his extreme partisanship and the fact that he wants to run for the Monmouth County Freeholder, I say .... Cut him loose.

Insider NJ:

Middletown Twp. Committeeman Gerry Scharfenberger, the frontrunner to grab Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso’s (R-13) freeholder seat, apparently wants to keep his job as Director of Planning for the State of New Jersey, a source tells InsiderNJ.

But Democrats heady with Murphy partying over the course of the last few government-transitioning days, are reluctant to comply, the source said, as they consider some of the loyal Republican’s pre-election statements on Facebook.

“The difference between the two candidates could not be more stark,” wrote Scharfenberer. “If we don’t want New Jersey to face a $1.3 billion tax hike, the designation as a sanctuary state, legalized pot, and record-breaking increases in spending, then everyone will come out to support Kim [Guadagno] and the entire Republican ticket.”

Whether or not Murphy keeps Scharfenberger, sharpening to run countywide even as Democrats look to compete to hold ground won last year in LD11, could have political consequences for the governor, who resides in the committeeman’s hometown.