October 20th, Subject: GOP candidates are bad for Middletown

What is the Middletown GOP’s motivation in this campaign that is affecting their judgment? It certainly isn’t dealing with the real issues that Middletown residents are facing on an everyday basis — like putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their family’s head.

A possible motive could be covering up damage this Republican-controlled government has thrown in the face of Middletown for the past 27 years. The contamination at the Arts Center and Town Hall has been ignored, to the point where a state agency had to step in and start charging fees for the township’s oversights in the project.

When I’ve walked neighborhoods, what residents keep telling me is they simply can’t afford their homes anymore. They can’t afford their mortgages, their children’s college education or their taxes.

Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger’s praise of Middletown being in Money Magazine’s Top 100 Places to Live in the Country forgets some things: Middletown isn’t taking enough care of its own right now and the quality of life has declined.

What has this administration done to maintain the quality of life its residents enjoy? It has turned away many young people in its mismanagement of affordable housing, allowed properties to remain unsafely contaminated, and pretended as if FEMA was unreal, like it “couldn’t happen to us.”

Deputy Mayor Pam Brightbill and her running mate, have charged me with raising taxes in a town where I don’t yet sit on the committee. They have made assumptions, and the only reason for this is because they are running against me in a political election. 

In exercising their apparent judgment, they are choosing to attack opponents, literally fabricating issues and spinning truth. The facts remain, but the truth is this: The Middletown GOP administration is on a path that will ruin this community, if allowed to fester any further.

It is evident their judgment has not been influenced by the public at all. The Middletown GOP is plagued by self-serving motivations, cronyism and partisan gifts handed out by chairman Peter Carton.

Jim Grenafege
Democrat for Township Committee
Middletown resident