Scharfenberger To Seek 13th Assembly Seat

I'm a little late to the party on this one but I just have to give my thoughts on the matter.

It was reported on the Middletown  Patch (and other places) this past Monday, that Middletown's appointed mayor Gerry Scharfenberger,plans to seek a seat in the NJ State Assembly for District 13 and made his intentions known on his Facebook page.  It was also reported that current Monmouth County Freeholder Serena Dimaso and Fair Haven Councilman Bob Marchese will also be seeking that seat. The three will face off against each other during the June Primary to see who will run against the eventual Democratic nominee.

The Assembly seat that the three are vying for will either be Assemblywoman Amy Handlin's seat or Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon's. Both are seeking the party nomination to succeed retiring Monmouth County Senator Joe Kyrillos, in the NJ State Senate.

I knew that when Joe Kyrillos announced that he wasn't seeking reelection that someone on the Middletown Township Committee would be looking towards Trenton.

 At the time, I personally thought that it would have been Tony Fiore, seeing how he's a co-chair for the Monmouth County Republicans and may have been looking for a venue change. However, I changed that opinion recently when Scharfenberger's buddies on the Township Committee reappointed him mayor during Reorganization day on January 1st.

It's always been the M.O. of the Middletown Republicans to appoint those that are seeking reelection as Mayor or Deputy-Mayor, which would have made either Stephanie Murray or Tony Fiore, the ones to fill those positions. It was in fact Murray this time who was appointed Deputy-Mayor and Scharfenberger who was appointed mayor. I suppose it's more impressive if you give the impression that you are the appointed elected mayor of Middletown, seeking higher office rather than just a sitting Committeeman.

That being said, here is my primary day prediction; Gerry Scharfenberger will bee seeking Amy Handlin's seat in the Assembly. I think both Handlin and Scharfenberger will win their primary campaigns easily. The reason is simple; nearly a third of all registered GOP voters in the 13th District are from Middletown! That's one hell of an advantage for anyone seeking election in the 13th to overcome.

FULTON CALLS ON DIMASO TO REIMBURSE TAXPAYERS FOLLOWING ASBURY PARK PRESS INVESTIGATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2016


HAZLET – Following today’s front page investigative report from the Asbury Park Press exposing the fact that Monmouth County Freeholder Serena DiMaso has been in violation of receiving family health coverage at the expense of Monmouth County residents, Sue Fulton today called on DiMaso to immediately reimburse county taxpayers. Fulton is a candidate for freeholder who has twenty years experience managing at Fortune 100 companies.

Freeholder Serena DiMaso

“Today’s investigative report exposes exactly what is wrong with our government in Monmouth County,” said Fulton. “Serena DiMaso has worked the system to all of our detriment, giving taxpayers the bill for her family health coverage in clear violation of the law. Freeholder DiMaso owes Monmouth County taxpayers a proper explanation for why she betrayed the public’s trust and forced us all to pay for her family health coverage and she should immediately pay back every dime.”

According to the APP, DiMaso paid for COBRA, the federal system offered to former full-time county employees in which they pay monthly in order to keep their health benefits for up to 18 months after leaving their jobs. DiMaso was operating in violation of a years old resolution stating that county freeholders cannot receive health benefits. Also according to the APP, on January 21st of this year the Monmouth County freeholders unanimously passed a resolution that extended health benefits to part-time employees who work 30 hours a week, even though that threshold has been in place since 2008. The resolution from this year, which DiMaso voted on, also removed the restriction on the freeholder’s ability to receive coverage.

“Freeholder Dimaso is not a full-time employee, she should not have been receiving COBRA through the county, and she certainly should not have voted on a resolution that could only serve to try and justify her actions in advance of her campaign for re-election,” said Fulton. “Serena DiMaso’s actions would have swift consequences in the private sector, I can’t imagine why her position in the service of county taxpayers should be any different.”