Scherer leaving politics to focus on business

Freeholder’s new venture, Garden State Deer Proofing, is taking more of his time.

By: Charlie Olsen
   After nine years as a Somerset County freeholder, Freeholder Director Ken Scherer, of Hillsborough, says he is stepping down at the end of the year to focus on his new business venture.
   Mr. Scherer said he needs to spend more time on his sprinkler and landscaping business, Hillsborough Irrigation and Belle Mead Nursery on Willow Road, and a new company, Garden State Deer Proofing, which he formed with his 24-year-old son, Scott.
   With the new business off to a busy start, Mr. Scherer, a 47-year-old Republican, said he was faced with an opportunity and a tough decision earlier this year.
   "I had to make the decision not to run for re-election," Mr. Scherer said. "It was time to make that decision."
   Although he is leaving to focus on his businesses, Mr. Scherer said that he wouldn’t shy away from running for higher government office in the future.
   "The next step would be the (state) Assembly," Mr. Scherer said. "With 15 years of experience, if the opportunity to throw my hat in the circle came along I wouldn’t say no."
   Mr. Scherer said that his 15 years as a politician — six years in the Hillsborough Township Committee and nine years as a county freeholder — had helped him refine his people skills.
   Now that his term is nearing an end, Mr. Scherer said he is most proud of what he did for senior citizens and also for youth sports.
   In 2000, he proposed a county athletic facilities program that that awarded a total of $2.15 million to various sports organizations to improve playing fields in the past six years.
   "I’m very proud. It was something I brought to the board," Mr. Scherer said.
   Mr. Scherer said he was also proud of his involvement in county open space preservation, the construction of the Commerce Bank Ballpark stadium for the Patriots baseball team, and GovDelivery — an online service to connect people with county resources, such as job openings.
   Mr. Scherer also cited his idea of placing a permanent electronic message board at the Finderne Avenue intersection in Bridgewater to reach all of the commuters who sit at the busy intersection. Mr. Scherer said he would like to see something similar — with important information such as emergency information and the crime tip line number — along Route 206.
   Throughout his term, Mr. Scherer did a lot of fundraising for nonprofits, sitting on as many as six boards at a time. On June 6, 2003, he participated in an unusual charity fundraiser that was a little more taxing: a boxing match with Gerry Cooney — a heavyweight best known for his hard-hitting 54 second knockout of Ken Norton in 1981.
   "We went three rounds. After the second round, I said to Gerry, ‘I can’t go four rounds,’" Mr. Scherer said.
   Mr. Scherer had told Mr. Cooney that he had never boxed before, and Mr. Cooney assured him that he wouldn’t be hurt and he would make him look good. But then something went awry.
   "Maybe it was the boxer in him, but that son of a gun caught me right on the chin," Mr. Scherer said. "I was dazed … I was standing there thinking, ‘I can’t go down; there’s reporters, politicians and cameras here!’"
   The fundraiser ended up raising $40,000 for the Adult Day Care Center of Somerset County. Now, he and Mr. Cooney, a resident of Fanwood, run a more peaceful annual golf-outing fundraiser.
   Mr. Scherer said that it’s best for any candidate with aspirations of someday working at the county, state or federal government to start at the local level, because the constituency grows so large at the higher levels, it’s easy to get out of touch.
   "I had six good years in Hillsborough and nine good years with the county," Mr. Scherer said. "As long as their heart’s in the right place, it makes all decisions, even tough ones, easier."
   Mr. Scherer’s term will end Dec. 31.