PARSIPPANY — According to New Jersey Globe, Democrat Pulkit Desai, a U.S. Marine combat veteran, has been elected mayor of Parsippany. He defeated Republican incumbent James Barberio by 77 votes after all provisionals and Vote By Mail ballots were counted.
Barberio led Desai by 211 votes, 9,550 to 9,339. But provisional and vote-by-mail ballots counted today by the Morris County Board of Elections gave Desai a lead of 9,975 to 9,898, a margin of 50.2% to 49.8%.
Democrats also picked up two council seats, with Matt Kavanaugh and Diya Patel easily defeating Republican incumbent Frank Neglia and his running mate, Jigar Shah. That splits the township council, 3-2.
According to a local source, Morris County Republican Chairwoman Laura Ali is asking for a recount.
Parsippany Focus will update this article as additional information is available.
