Rocky Rios Challenges Tony Perry For Middletown TC Seat

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — There is one Township Committee seat up for election this year in Middletown and that is the one currently held by Middletown Mayor Tony Perry, a Republican.

Perry is asking Middletown voters to re-elect him, for a second time. He will be challenged by Democrat Rocky Rios.

The Asbury Park Press reported this week that Perry has raised $91,950 in campaign donations, leading to the presumption that Perry will one day run for higher office beyond Middletown municipal government. Rios has only raised $1,000, according to the report.

"What the heck are you going to spend $90,000 on in a local election?" the Press quoted Rios asking.

While Middletown is a majority Republican town, Rios is earnest about this race. He has a website: https://middletownstrong.org/ and is backed by Middletown Democrats. He is running for the Township Committee seat because he says Middletown is being overdeveloped and mismanaged, he said.

"Suddenly our beaches are too crowded and we have to charge even residents to go?" said Rios. "We’re closing schools, but adding housing? These things do not add up. It would appear that some common sense is needed on the committee."

This is a race between two young men: Rios will be 32 next week. Perry is 31 now, but was only 28 when the Township Committee named him mayor, becoming the youngest mayor on the Jersey Shore and in Middletown history. He is also the son-in-law of current Monmouth County Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R), who himself previously was on the Middletown Committee.

In an email statement he sent to Patch on why he is running, Rios accused Perry of nepotism.

"It's a little tough to argue that the Township Committee can appropriately govern on behalf of the residents when you can get onto it just by marrying into the right family," said Rios.

Perry was appointed to a vacancy on the Middletown Township Committee in 2017 (the existing Township Committee members get to choose who fills the vacancy), but was then elected to the seat in 2018, beating Democrat Tricia McGuire with 55 percent of the vote. If re-elected this November, this would be his third term on the Middletown Township Committee.

Perry's full-time job is as a media spokesman for Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel (part of Hackensack Meridian Health). He is formerly the chief of staff to now-retired state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, and before that Perry worked as an aide in Gov. Chris Christie's administration.

Rios holds a bachelors degree in computer engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. He also has his masters' degree in computer science.

Rios works as a software engineer for AT&T right here in Middletown, and has lived and worked in Middletown since he first came here for that career opportunity.

"I moved into a rented apartment in Knollwood Gardens and decided I loved it here so much I wanted to set down some roots," he told Patch. "I bought my home in North Middletown in 2012."

From Rios, here is why he decided to run for Township Committee:

1. "It would seem that the Township is in a rush to overdevelop our town, and the residents are caught in the midst. Suddenly our beaches are too crowded and we have to charge even residents to go? We’re closing schools but adding housing? These things… do not add up. It would appear that some common sense is needed on the committee. Also, all the development is focused in one place.... nearest to 35 by the township building. Is the TC aware that Middletown is a very, very big town filled with diverse neighborhoods that could also use some investment?"
2. "Upwards property tax assessments during the pandemic not only demonstrated the TC's lack of 'being in touch,' but a willing desire for the township to take advantage of those fleeing the cities and scooping up our properties at absurd prices... raising all our homeowners' expenses. Again, during a pandemic, a time when many of our families are suffering hardships economic and/or otherwise."
3. "Having attended a few of the Township Committee meetings since they’ve been broadcasted on the web, you can get a real good sense of how little the Township Committee cares for resident interaction. These are the people who chose you to govern them! I strongly suspect this is the result of a full 5/5 partisan 'panel' of committee members from similar walks of life, which closes off our leadership from diverse perspectives. Even as a single voice on that committee, I believe I can bring enhanced representation to the will of the residents."

The election is Nov. 2.

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