Middletown Mayor Scharfenberger Defends Appointment Of Son In Law

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — After Tony Perry was appointed to the Middletown Township Committee at last week's Nov. 13 meeting, there's been some chatter in town about nepotism or cronyism at work. That's because Perry, pictured above, is the son-in-law of current Middletown Mayor and longtime Township Committee member Gerry Scharfenberger.

Perry now sits alongside his father-in-law on the five-person Middletown Township Committee. At last week's meeting, all the sitting Committee members, including Scharfenberger, unanimously voted for Perry to fill the vacancy left by Stephen Massell. (Massell resigned in October to take a position on the Monmouth County Tax Board.)

On Friday, Scharfenberger vigorously defended his vote to the Middletown Patch, saying that Perry was simply the best person for the job.

"Nepotism means someone gets a position based on a relationship. He got this position based on his overwhelmingly significant qualifications," said Scharfenberger.

Perry, 27, currently works as chief of staff to outgoing state Senator Joe Kyrillos, who will retire in January. He has been on the Middletown Planning Board for the past few years (an appointed position by the Township Committee) and he's also president of the Middletown library board. In the past, Perry worked in the Office of the Governor — Sandy Recovery Division, where he worked heavily with FEMA recovery. Like many in Middletown, Perry has also been very involved in the RAGE efforts to stop JCP&L's power lines. That's Perry above and below speaking against the Monmouth County Reliability Project.

"We had exactly three people step forward expressing an interest in this seat," Scharfenberger continued. "We had to decide who is the most qualified and who brings the most to the table as far as what's needed for our town. Because of Tony's job working as Sen. Kyrillos' chief of staff, he has a tremendous amount of knowledge about New Jersey's legislative process. When I tell you he has connections in Trenton the four of us existing Township Committee members don't have — the ability for him to know who to call in Trenton, who to talk to, is invaluable."

Perry was chosen over Patricia Snell, a local realtor and Chris Aveta, who was elected to the Middletown Board of Education for one term. Aveta has tried twice since then be re-elected, but to no avail.

"Certainly this question, of nepotism, is to be expected," said Mayor Scharfenberger. "But how do we deny Middletown taxpayers someone with these qualifications? If people are open-minded and clear-minded, it's hard to deny he was far and away the best person for the job."

The Township Committee position pays a small stipend of $4,000 per year, but most TC members exceed it and pay their own expenses, he said. Photos of Perry used with permission from Mayor Scharfenberger. Related: Watch The Nov. 13 Middletown Township Committee Meeting