Asm. Scharfenberger is an Extremist not a Hero

By Allison Friedman and Erin Howard

Growing up, our heroes were always the people who put others before themselves: people who treat every person they encounter with dignity and respect, people who strive to find the things that bind us rather than the things that tear us apart.

We believe strength of community is the American way. Community is what gets us through in times of struggle and moves us forward in times of prosperity. The Covid-19 pandemic is just one example of a difficult time which has exposed both the rifts, and the goodness, in our community. We have had the privilege of meeting and speaking to hundreds of people in LD13 and no matter the party, they have one thing in common: they are worn weary by divisiveness.

There are two people living in Legislative District 13 that we look to as heroes: High School student Brad and his Middle School student sister Sarah. Brad came out to his family and friends as gay despite the isolation and bullying that coming out could bring upon him. It should not take a heroic act to be true to who you are but, in these times, for teenagers like Brad, it is heroic. Sarah, Brad’s younger sister, not only stands by his side in support but has begun forming a club she calls “Safe Space,” and knowing this may not be the path to popularity among her peers, she is doing it anyway. A hero stands up against the odds and pressure to do what is right and what helps others.

There is one group trying desperately to divide us: Team “Protect Your Children” (PYC). PYC does its “protecting” by forcing extreme religious and personal beliefs on those around them. On October 9th, members of this extreme group canvassed door-to-door on behalf of its’ endorsed candidates for Marlboro Township Board of Education. Unfortunately, my opponent, Assemblyman Scharfenberger, joined them to knock on doors. In a subsequent social media post on October 9th, the group hailed him as a “hero.” Assemblyman Scharfenberger’s fomenting of division and embracing of those that weaponize religion does not match my definition of heroics.

According to the group’s public Facebook page, “Team PYC is a group of people who want to protect the children from the pending LGBT curriculum.” Posts on the page openly mock and malign members of our LGBTQ community, call history courses that accurately reflect America’s history of slavery as indoctrination, and foster conspiracy theories about hidden agendas in our educational system. This group is intentionally misrepresenting the Inclusive Curriculum law and spreading dangerous rhetoric about LGBTQ community members.

PYC members believe that children can only be protected by teaching them “BIBLICAL TRUTHS” (caps not mine) in public school. They promote workshops to “empower and prepare parents and concerned citizens with knowledge, facts, BIBLICAL TRUTH, and steps to take action against the indoctrination and sexualization of the students in the NJ public schools.”

How did Gerry Scharfenberger become a hero in the eyes of Team PYC? By being anti-LGBTQ, anti-reproductive rights, and even anti-education. In addition to wanting to wipe LGBTQ history from the classroom, PYC also seeks to prevent meaningful discussion about race and America’s difficult history on the subject. Education Week Magazine defined critical race theory as “The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.” Assemblyman Sharfenberger became PYC’s Hero of the Week for taking that concept to the extreme with this take: “It is hard to fathom teaching young people to hate their own country and each other based on race, but that is exactly what [critical race theory] does.” Assemblyman Scharfenberger, this is simply not true.

Allison as a Jewish woman believes it is important to live out her faith through her actions. Both Allison and Erin encourage our children to do the same. As candidates for State Assembly, We believe it is equally important to respect all faiths traditions. PYC is not protecting our children nor anyone else’s, and it’s dishonest to campaign on the platform that LGBTQ-inclusive history is something kids need to be “protected” from.

Extremism has no place in our schools, nor being bolstered by members of the New Jersey Legislature. As members of the State Assembly, we will uplift heroes who encourage our communities to come together. We will respect and celebrate the different religious traditions of those we represent. More importantly, however, we will also ensure that facts, not “Biblical truths”, are taught in our public schools.

Allison Friedman and Erin Howard are Democratic candidates for the State Assembly in the Thirteenth Legislative District.