A rocky start for new Middletown committee Lone Democrat, GOP majority failing to see eye to eye BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer Patrick Short (r) is sworn in on Jan. 7 by Congressman Frank Pallone as a Middletown committeeman, the first Democrat since 1990 to be on the Township Committee. MIDDLETOWN - As the newest member of the Middletown Township Committee, Patrick Short said he just wanted to feel like part of the team. He wanted a chance to make his mark on a committee that has been solely run by Republicans since 1990. "I feel like, in government, discussions need to occur so that each person is on the same page with each other and that we all know what's going on," Short said. "Open discussion is a necessary thing." According to Short, though, this is exactly what didn't happen, and that was even before he took office. On Jan. 5, two days before he was to be sworn in as the first Democratic committee member in 17 years at the annual reorganization meeting, Short said he received documents from the township on letterhead that listed Gerard Scharfenberger as the mayor and Pamela Brightbill as the deputy mayor. While it was settled among the Republican majority that Scharfenberger and Brightbill would be in their new spots, that would not become official until Jan. 7. Short feels that it's not only wrong that this happened but that he was not offered the opportunity to discuss the matter beforehand. "There should have been a discussion of appointments and nominations, and I was not offered any such chance," Short said. "I wanted an exchange as to why [Scharfenberger and Brightbill] were going to be in those positions on the committee." Scharfenberger said that he checked with the township's attorney to make sure that it was legal to place his and Brightbill's names on township letterhead as mayor and deputy mayor. "The letterhead issue is a very minor technicality," Scharfenberger said. "Mr. Short needs to stop trying to catch technicalities and start doing work for our town. That's why he got elected." Scharfenberger also said he tried numerous times to reach out to the newest committeeman, but got little or no response at all between Election Day and the annual reorganization meeting. "There's been no reciprocation by Mr. Short at all," Scharfenberger said. The current mayor also pointed out that he almost had competition for the position. "I called Mr. Short on Dec. 21 and asked him for his support in my attempt to be mayor and he said he had to sleep on it," Scharfenberger said. "The next day, a letter arrived at town hall from Mr. Short saying that he wanted to be the mayor. I was bewildered and amazed that he thinks that it's such a frivolous job, that, with no prior political experience, he could be the mayor. I don't understand his thinking at all." Short also voted, unsuccessfully, against Scharfenberger being on the Middletown Landmarks Commission, a move the mayor felt showed disrespect. Scharfenberger is an archaeologist by trade and has been a longtime member of the committee. In spite of this, Short feels that the committee will be able to work together. He also says that residents shouldn't expect the committee to agree on things 100 percent of the time. "I feel like this committee has been operating under the same process for nearly 20 years since it has been all Republican," Short said. "Changes need to be made in the way things are done. I don't want to operate like this, where everything gets voted 'yes' automatically. The people will see that my voting won't always be a block 'yes.' I'll vote after I review things. As for the other members of the committee, maybe they don't review things or it's just a strange occurrence. "I want to bring it to the attention of the other committee members that changes are needed. It's not the people that are the problem, it's the process."