In addition to serving as mayor and deputy mayor of Middletown, Scharfenberger served on the Middletown Township Committee for nearly 13 years and the Monmouth County Freeholder board from 2018 to 2019.

At the state level, he was a member of Governor-elect Chris Christie's transition team, the Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center and Director of the Office for Planning Advocacy.

Prior to joining the Christie administration, Scharfenberger had a long career as a professional archaeologist, working mainly in the Northeast and lecturing throughout the United States, Canada and England. He holds a master's degree from Hunter College and received his doctorate in 2005 from the CUNY Graduate Center with a dual focus on historical archaeology and cultural landscape studies. He is currently a member of the adjunct faculty of Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

He and his wife, Geraldine, have resided in the Middletown area for more than 23 years. They have two children.