Scharfenberger expected to become twp. mayor Reorganization meeting Sunday at Middletown municipal building BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer Gerard Scharfenberger MIDDLETOWN — After serving on the Township Committee for the past two years, Deputy Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger will most likely move up to the top spot at the reorganization meeting on Sunday at 11 a.m. Scharfenberger, a 48-year-old archaeologist, will be entering the final year of a three-year term. He previously served as a member of the Zoning Board in 2003 and 2004, and currently serves as a member of the township’s open space committee and is Middletown’s liaison to the Bayshore Dredge Committee. “I think now being the mayor, the biggest difference is that I’ll be a bit more visible, and the mayor is the one who signs all of the official documents, such as ordinances. Those will be the two biggest differences,” Scharfenberger said. “The mayor really is the go-to person in town.” Scharfenberger said that current Mayor Thomas Hall “has a firm but fair way of running meetings,” but he also wants to put his own imprint on how meetings are handled each month. “I may take things in a different direction,” he said. “I want the public to know how the meetings are run. We may have a lot of first-timers attending our meetings and I want to make sure that people know what is going on.” Pamela Brightbill One of Scharfenberger’s main goals is to keep the lines of communication open between the committee and the different department heads within the township. “There are few initiatives that we have been working on as a committee over the past year and it’ll all come out during the reorganization meeting.” It is also a near-foregone conclusion that Committeewoman Pamela Brightbill will move up to the deputy mayor position for 2007. Brightbill, 44, was elected in 2005 and is a member to the Planning Board and the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council. “My goal is to continue working with our volunteers in town and to be the Township Committee’s representative on the Planning Board,” Brightbill said. She also said that coming from a volunteer background, she wants to make sure that she stays in touch with what’s going on with the volunteer boards and commissions in town. As for the next mayor of Middletown, Brightbill feels that he’s a perfect fit. “Dr. Scharfenberger is extremely intelligent and I’m sure he’s going to do a great job. He’s a great fit for the position of mayor,” Brightbill said. Also at the reorganization meeting, newcomer Patrick Short will be sworn-in as a committeeman, making him the first Democrat in over 15 years to be elected to a seat in Middletown. Short will replace Rosemarie Peters, who instead ran successfully for Monmouth County Surrogate in November.