Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger
Gerry Scharfenberger, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center and the Director of the Office for Planning Advocacy (OPA) for the New Jersey Business Action Center (BAC). Housed within the New Jersey Department of State, the BAC’s core mission is to help create and retain jobs while encouraging private capital investment in the Garden State.
Gerry is a member of the adjunct faculty of Monmouth University in West Long Branch. Since 2005 he has served on the Middletown Township Committee. In addition he served as Mayor in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2017 and Deputy Mayor in 2006 and 2009. In 2018, he was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Gerry has been a member of the Landmarks Commission since 1996 where he was appointed Chairman in 2012, and currently serves on the Middletown Township Open Space Committee and the Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
He also serves on the Monmouth County Greenhouse Gas Reduction Committee. In 2006 he was the Township Committee’s liaison to the Bayshore Dredge Committee, and in 2003 and 2004 Gerry sat on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and on Governor-elect Chris Christie’s transition team. Gerry was also a member of the League of Municipalities legislative committee from 2008 to 2010.
He holds a master’s degree from Hunter College and received his doctorate in 2005 from the CUNY Graduate Center with a dual focus on historical archaeology and cultural landscape studies.
Gerry has lived in Middletown for more than 23 years with his wife, Geraldine, and their two children.
Freeholder Candidate Sue Kiley
Sue Kiley has had a successful 30-year career in the healthcare industry before entering the political arena. She spent 7 years as a Registered Nurse, and then moved into healthcare sales. Before retiring, Sue served as Vice President of National Healthcare System Sales for a $22 Billion Organization and was named Top Producer in the Nation in 2005 and 2008. The impact of Superstorm Sandy on the Bayshore Community was a pivotal time in Sue’s life and it was then that she decided to leave her national job to become more involved in community service.
Sue ran for Township Committee in Hazlet in 2014 and won with 57% of the vote. She served as a Committeewoman in 2015, Deputy Mayor in 2016, Mayor in 2017, and is now serving as Deputy Mayor while pursuing a position as Monmouth County Freeholder. She created the Economic Development Committee which brought the “Shop Hazlet” program to Hazlet to benefit local businesses and lower property taxes for the residents. She was responsible for creating programs for seniors, and disabled veterans at no cost to the town. She has served on the Land Use Board, Open Space Board, Environmental Committee, Economic Development Committee and Recreation Committee.
Sue is an Executive Board Member of RAINE, and an active member of Breast Intention- both local 501C charities. She has resided in Hazlet most of her life, as has her husband Gene. They have 5 children and 10 grandchildren.
