Amidst Controversy, Tony Perry Sworn In As Middletown Mayor

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown Committeeman Tony Perry was sworn in as the Township's new mayor this past Sunday, Jan. 6.

At the Middletown Township Organization Day meeting, Perry was sworn in for a three-year term by Joseph Kyrillos, the now-retired state Senator who represented this part of Monmouth County for decades. Perry was Kyrillos' chief of staff. He was later sworn in as mayor by Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden. Perry, his wife and Sheriff Golden are pictured above.

Perry, 28, is the youngest mayor in Middletown history. He is not without some controversy: He is the son-in-law of current Monmouth County Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger, himself a former Middletown Committeeman and mayor. That family connection led some Middletown residents to allege nepotism. Perry was appointed by the five-person Committee to fill the seat vacated by Stephen Massell, who filled a position on the Monmouth County Tax Board. The all-Republican Middletown Committee that appointed Perry is widely seen as very friendly to Scharfenberger.

Also, when Perry ran for re-election last year, his campaign team filed an OPRA request for Middletown's municipal email list, and used that list to send out campaign materials bashing Middletown's controversial Village 35 project, as well as Perry's political opponent, Sean Byrnes, the Democrat who was running to unseat him.

When this happened in October 2018, there was much public outcry from residents at having their email addresses be used for political attack ads. Middletown's public administrator Tony Mercantante said at the time the Township's hands were tied, and that municipal email address lists are — and continue to be — subject to Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests.

"If someone files an OPRA request for our list of subscribers for email blasts, etc. we must provide it and apparently that is what happened," Mercantante told Patch at the time. "(The OPRA request) was filed anonymously, which is often the case and legally permitted."

Read: Middletown Gives Up All Residents' Email Accounts In OPRA Request

Perry also defended its legality at a Middletown Township Committee meeting this past fall.

"The addresses were obtained through the Open Public Records Act ... I went to them (my campaign team) and asked them about this email," said Perry. "I asked them where the addresses came from. They were obtained through the Open Public Records Act ... 100 percent legally obtained through the Open Public Records Act."

Despite outcry from some residents, Perry and the Middletown Republican ticket still defeated Byrnes and the Democratic ticket in the Nov. 2018 election. Read that story: Perry, Snell, Hibell Win Middletown Township Committee Race

Also at the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting, Committeeman Rick Hibell was sworn in for a one-year term and Committeewoman Patricia Snell was sworn in for her two-year term by Congressman Chris Smith.

Middletown Committeeman Tony Fiore was sworn in as deputy mayor. The 2019 Middletown Township Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services Officers were also sworn in at the meeting by Mayor Perry. The 2019 Fire Department officers are as follows:

Fire Chief Steven Schweizer
Deputy Chief Russell W. Mount III
First Assistant John Friedmann
Second Assistant Bernard F. Chenoweth, III
Third Assistant John Waltz, Jr.

Also, the 2019 EMS officers, as well as Chief Floyd Goldstein, Deputy Chief James Kelly and Assistant Chief Paul Kennedy, were sworn in by Mayor Perry at the January 6 organization meeting.

Photos from the Jan. 6, 2019 Organization Day used with permission from Middletown Township.

Read: Middletown Gives Up All Residents' Email Accounts In OPRA Request