Democrats celebrate clean sweep in Parsippany

PARSIPPANY — Team Soriano campaign slogan is “Clean up Parsippany,” and the voters in Parsippany made a clean sweep and ousted Mayor James Barberio and Council President Louis Valori in Tuesday’s election.

Republican Mayor James Barberio and Council President Louis Valori and their running mate Vincent Ferrara all lost the election, and will be replaced by Mayor-elect Michael Soriano, Councilwoman-elect Emily Peterson and Councilwoman-elect Janice McCarthy.

For the first time in over thirty years Parsippany will have a Democratic Mayor and two Democratic members on the Township Council.

“This is a historic victory! Thanks especially to the voters and the dedication of our campaign staff. I know Michael, as mayor, will bring the same determination and work ethic he brought to the campaign to positively impact Parsippany. I’m looking forward to bringing my personal and professional experiences to work with him and the Council for a government that serves all Parsippany our residents,” stated Councilwoman-elect Janice McCarthy.

Unofficial Results are:

In addressing a crowded room of supporters, Soriano said “This campaign was fueled by the labor of everyone from high school volunteers to experienced professionals, and it was your labor that made this possible.”

He continued “To the hard-working employees of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, I encourage you to rest easy tonight. If you are good at your job and perform it with passion, and respect the residents whom we serve, you have nothing to fear from me. Regardless of your party affiliation or whose lawn sign you put in front of your house, I will treat you with nothing but fairness and ask that you join me in my mission to clean up Parsippany.”

“I want to personally thank every voter for the opportunity to bring my years of executive chef experience to town hall and I am so honored that Parsippany is part of a national swell of pride, inclusivity and community,” said Emily Peterson, Councilwoman-elect.

In the endorsement Editorial by Daily Record they said “But in many ways this election isn’t as much about Barberio as it is about Township Attorney John Inglesino, Barberio’s influential and controversial right-hand man. Critics, including Soriano, say Inglesino serves as the de facto mayor who owes his outsized influence to a chummy relationship with Gov. Chris Christie. Inglesino does indeed dominate public discussions at council meetings in ways rarely seen from a municipal lawyer, all while raking in hefty fees Soriano says go far beyond reasonable legal expenses. Soriano doesn’t pull his punches, promising that his Day One act as mayor would be to dump Inglesino. An electrician by trade, Soriano has been involved with the local Democratic party but never before ran for public office. He said he targeted the mayor’s seat primarily it would give him authority to replace Inglesino.”

Soriano echoed many times the first item on his agenda will be to replace Township Attorney John Inglesino.

“This election said a lot about Parsippany; that the people expect their elected officials to work for them, listen to their concerns, preserve the character of their Town, and properly plan for the future. Our newly elected Mayor and Councilwomen (nice to have some more women!!) demonstrated their commitment to working for us and listening to us by the energetic and well planned campaign they ran. I am confident that they will continue to work for us and bring about renewed confidence and trust in our local government,” stated former Mayor Mimi Letts.

“Mayor James Barberio called the Soriano headquarters and offered his congratulations. He promised a smooth transition and I thanked him,” said Soriano.

Soriano told his volunteers and supporters “Tonight is our night to celebrate and tomorrow the work of cleaning up Parsippany begins. Our team promised the people of Parsippany that we would be responsive to their concerns, that we would bring back businesses to reduce the residential tax burden, end wasteful spending, and we promised we would work together to make sure Parsippany taxpayers receive value for every tax dollar spent. Countless people gave of themselves for this victory.”