Former Middletown Mayor Attends Reopen NJ Rally In Point Pleasant

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Former Middletown Township Committeeman and now Monmouth County Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger attended the Rally to Open New Jersey, which Patch reported was held Memorial Day Monday in Point Pleasant Beach.

Scharfenberger, a Republican, estimated there were about one thousand people there, and he described the crowd as mostly small-business owners eager to reopen. One of the rally's speakers was Bellmawr-based Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith, who attracted national fame after he repeatedly reopened in spite of Gov. Murphy's orders. Also in attendance was Kyle Newell, the owner of a Hillsborough-based gym cited three days in a row for defying Murphy's stay-at-home orders. (Newell owns Newell Strength in Hillsborough.) Patch has written about both rebel gym owners.

"This was to reopen New Jersey," Assemblyman Scharfenberger told Patch on Tuesday. "A lot of Monmouth County small businesses were there. These people have had patience. This is now going on the third month of this and the numbers have dropped. The biggest problems (with the coronavirus) are in nursing homes and long-term care facilities."

"But these businesses — you are talking about peoples' livelihoods," he continued. "This is getting out of hand. Everyone was willing to do this for a reasonable amount of time in the beginning. But now the numbers have dropped to a point where we can open back up."

Scharfenberger, who got his start in politics when he was first elected to the Middetown Twp. Committee and served for several terms as Middletown's mayor, said he's getting calls "every day" from small-business owners begging him to reopen.

"I talked to one, a hairdresser from the Bayshore area — I don't want to completely out her — but she was in tears, saying I've poured my entire life into my business. When can she get back to work?" he said. "And my office gets literally about 100 calls a day from people who need help with collecting unemployment. Everyone from single moms to people with kids. If small businesses could open, these people could get back to work."

Scharfenberger represents Legislative District 13.

The rally was held in the Silver Lake parking lot and dubbed the "Freedom March of New Jersey." Scharfenberger spoke as did state Sen. Joe Pennachio, a Republican from Morris County, and South Jersey state Senator Mike Testa, also a Republican. Many in the audience waved Trump flags; Scharfenberger is himself a Trump supporter.

While many in the crowd did not wear masks, Scharfenberger attended with his wife and he said they both wore masks. He said he just took it off for pictures.

"I'm more of a personal choice person. Look, there are people who choose not to wear seat belts; who don't wear helmets on motorcycles," he said. "People have been very patient, very cooperative. I'm not going to pass judgement on people three months into this and counting. It was an outdoor event and there hasn't been one documented case of outdoor transmission."

Scharfenberger also said he was unaware that gym owner Smith, who he posed for photos with, has a 2008 drunk driving conviction. Smith was sentenced to more than five years in prison for causing a crash that killed a Galloway teenager, according to nj.com. He ran a stop sign and killed 19-year-old Kevin Ade.

"This is the first I've heard of that. And for a guy who doesn't drink, I take drunk driving pretty seriously," said Scharfenberger. "But I don't know if that's a fair comparison, to compare that to someone trying to operate their business."

What is his message to Gov. Murphy?

"Look, everyone has a view of the way this will unfold," he said. "He's (Murphy's) getting advice from people. This is how he's going to deal with this. He's the governor. But the people have the right to say we don't think this is the right way to do it. We have the right to publicly say we want to open our businesses. That's the beauty of America. Life is not without risk — anybody who rides the Parkway knows that."

Related: Gov. Murphy Warns Gym After It Reopens, Defying NJ Order

Reopen NJ Protest Draws Crowd To Point Pleasant Beach:As politicians called on Gov. Phil Murphy to reopen NJ's economy, a group of 400 business owners say they will reopen June 1 no matter what.

This article originally appeared on the Middletown Patch