PARSIPPANY —  InsiderNJ attempted to arrange a debate between the two Republican mayoral candidates, Jamie Barberio and Dr. Louis Valori but to no avail. Valori was willing, but Barberio, after agreeing to the idea in concept, never responded to calls to set it up. (Click here to read the full article).

Parsippany Focus has submitted the following questions to all the candidates, Mayoral and Council, hoping they will respond with answers, to help the voters of Parsippany decide at the polls. The questions were derived by our Editorial Team and asking random residents what they thought the most pressing issues were in Parsippany. Candidates were requested to return responses by Thursday, June 3, 5:00 p.m.

Election day is Tuesday, June 8. Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to  8:00 p.m.

Valori and his team of council candidates Justin Musella and Gary Martin are running under the banner of “Parsippany First.”

Barberio and his team of council candidates Frank Neglia and Deborah Orme, are running under the banner of “Bring Back Barberio.”

Also running independently for a council seat is Former Council Vice President Robert Peluso.

Debate Questions for Mayoral Candidates:

1. Pride in Parsippany is an important part of why many choose our Township as their home. Why did you decide to settle in Parsippany, and what makes you proud to be a resident?

2. What is your primary motivation to serve the residents of Parsippany as Mayor?

3. What qualities and platform positions set you apart from your opponent?

4. What is the first action you will take as Mayor should you be elected?

5. Allegations of nepotism have marked a shadow on past Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to the last century, will you make a commitment to stop this practice in the future?

6. Public confidence in our police department has been shaken over the past ten years as a result of multiple whistleblower lawsuits and allegations of impropriety at the top, how would you address this and bring back trust in our local law enforcement?

7. Parsippany has earned a reputation for poor fiscal management coupled with short-term budgetary thinking, which steps would you take to change this and bring Parsippany back into financial maturity? Specifically, address recent increases in utility rates and higher than expected tax increases over the past few years.

8. Overdevelopment has been a staple of campaigns on both sides of the isle with truly little in the way of tangible action being taken by Town Hall. How would you ensure that any new development meets the needs of the township while balancing the needs of current residents? Specifically, address the use of PILOT programs and their benefits/costs to residents.

9. In the past, relations between Town Hall and the Township Council have been less than desirable, what actions will take to ensure this improves in your administration?

10. In the 2017 election, Township Attorney John Inglesino played a major role in the voter’s decision. The Township experienced unusually high legal bills and lawsuits.  Do you have any intention of bringing Mr. Inglesino, Justin Marchetta, or other members of the firm Inglesino, Webster, Wyciskala & Taylor, to Parsippany as Town Attorney?

11. If you fail to win the support of residents and lose the election, what advice would you give to the victor?

Debate Questions for Council Candidates:

1. Pride in Parsippany is an important part of why many choose our Township as their home. Why did you decide to settle in Parsippany, and what makes you proud to be a resident?

2. Tell us about your family life and what living in Parsippany means to you.

3. What is your primary motivation to serve the residents of Parsippany as a Councilmember?

4. What qualities and platform positions set you apart from your opponents?

5. The Township Council has an important role in acting as a check on the executive branch, how would you continue to ensure proper governance in your role as a Councilmember and prevent executive overreach?

6. As a Councilmember, how would you ensure that the financial position of the Township improves and what would you do to keep residential tax rates reasonable?

7. Recently, a disagreement between the bipartisan Township Council and the current administration on a proposed $5M bond to balance the budget has been made public. Where do you stand on using bonds to balance the budget and how would you vote on this proposal with current information made to the public?

8. Since 2018, the Township Council has become a legislative chamber where respect between members is encouraged regardless of party affiliation or political position. How will you continue to contribute to this positive atmosphere and assure that this continues?

9. Do you believe the Township Council should take an expanded role in engaging Town Hall on behalf of residents and advocating for their concerns? Would you support office hours during the week for Council members to meet with residents and address their concerns? Specifically, address poor follow-up by the Township in relation to constituency services.

10. Tell us about your work experience and how it will assist you in being a member of the Township Council in Parsippany.

11. There are five candidates running for the two available council seats.  What sets you apart from the other candidates and why should Republican voters support you on June 8?

PARSIPPANY — Politics is always interesting but this week Fred Snowflack NJ Insider uncovered truths about a State Resolution passed by the NJ General Assembly. District 26 is under fire by their own! But PARSIPPANY could lose control of the State seat but this article gets to the heart of the issue. 40 years of loyalty to a party can not be ignored!

Jay Webber is doubling down on his assertion BettyLou DeCroce is an anti-cop radical, as reported in a story published in InsiderNJ.

But DeCroce has cops on her side. A recent DeCroce campaign piece says “BettyLou backs the blue” and urges voters to ignore the “lies being spread by her desperate opponents.”

This is the work of the State Troopers Fraternal Association.
Roxbury Police Chief Mark Noll (Ret.) and Police Chief James Simonetti (Ret.) support Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce’s re-election to the State General Assembly in District 26.

As Police Chiefs who worked with Assemblywoman DeCroce for over twenty years in local government, she was always an ardent supporter of law enforcement. We have had the pleasure of working side by side with the Assemblywoman in her official capacity in Roxbury Township. We always knew that she had our backs and ensured that we received the necessary funding to do our jobs and protect our community.

Morris County Sheriff James Gannon also supports DeCroce.

Whether a candidate backs police is an odd issue in a Republican primary, but it’s raging in LD-26, which is centered in Morris County and includes small parts of Essex and Passaic counties.

Both Webber and DeCroce are Assembly incumbents, but only Webber has been endorsed by the Morris County Republican Committee.

Webber’s partner is Christian Barranco, who the committee also endorsed.

Also in the race is Tom Mastrangelo, a Morris County Commissioner.

The police issue stems from DeCroce’s vote last year in support of making July 13 Black Lives Matter day in New Jersey. The bill speaks of urging police and others to work together in the name of solidarity and also acknowledges past injustices. In short, this was one of those symbolic votes public bodies commonly take.

And it really wasn’t controversial. No Assembly member voted “no,” although a number of them, Webber included, abstained. Other Morris County Legislators voted yes. Abstentions are useless! This begs an obvious question. If the bill was so heinous, why didn’t anyone push the “no” button?

But now that we’re in a primary fight, Webber is using the vote to link DeCroce to the “defund the police movement.”

A campaign piece last week accused DeCroce of supporting BLM’s radical agenda. And he reiterated that point this week.

The latest piece suggests DeCroce is an anti-Trump, anti-ICE, anti-cop radical. In case you miss the point, there’s a photo of someone holding a  “Defund the Police” sign. No, it’s not DeCroce.

DeCroce’s rebuttal mailer says simply that she’s backed by the State Troopers Association.

As an overview, it’s hard to see where Webber, who hasn’t been interested in chatting about the race, is going with all this.

You would think that voters who care about the state Assembly, which is not a high-profile position, would know something about the candidates.

Are these voters really going to believe that DeCroce, who has been active in Republican politics for about 40 years, is a closet member of the Black Liberation Army? That seems doubtful, but Webber apparently sees things differently.

DeCroce has a long list of support from Republican officials throughout the district including Former Member of Congress Rodney P. Frelinghuysen.

List of Endorsements:

Morris Plains
Council President Art Bruhn (R)
Councilman Sal Cortese (R)
Councilwoman Cathie Kelly (R)
Councilman Dennis Wagner (R)

Parsippany
Council President Michael DePierro (R)
Council Vice President Loretta Gragnani (R)
Councilman Paul Carifi Jr. (R)

Montville
Mayor Frank Cooney (R)
Deputy Mayor Rich Cook (R)
Committeeman Richard Conklin (R)
Committeeman Matthew Kayne (R)

Jefferson
Mayor Eric Wilsusen (R)
Council President Melissa Senatore (R)
Council Vice President Jay Dunham (R)
Councilman Josh Kalish (R)
Councilman Bob Birmingham (R)
Councilman Ron Smith (R)

Kinnelon
Mayor James Freda (R)
Council President Vincent Russo (R)
Councilman Robert Roy (R)
Councilman Sean Mabey (R)
Councilman James Lorkowski (R)
Councilman Randall Charles (R)
Councilman Bill Yago (R)

Parts of this article were reprinted from InsiderNJ.com.

Updated Friday, May 28, 8:30 p.m.

PARSIPPANY — The official total of registered voters eligible to vote in the June 8 Primary Election in Parsippany has been released by the Morris County Board of Elections.

The number of Parsippany Republicans now exceeds Parsippany Democrats by nearly 100.

The total registered Republicans in Parsippany are 11,801.  The total number of registered Democrats in Parsippany now stands at 11,709.  The total number of Unaffiliated voters in Parsippany is 13,676 which is the biggest percentage of the electorate.

The Primary election is 11 days away.  The race for the Republican nomination for Mayor and Council is in active motion.

Dr. Lou Valori is running for Mayor with Justin Musella and Gary Martin as Council running mates.

Former Mayor Jamie Barberio is also hoping to reclaim the Mayoral position running with Board of Education members Frank Neglia and Deborah Orme.

Former Council Vice President Robert Peluso is running alone for one of the Council seats.

PARSIPPANY —  Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Clerk Khaled Madin announced the June 1, Township Council Agenda Meeting of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills will be held at 7:00 p.m., in the Municipal Building located at 1001 Parsippany Boulevard.

This meeting is an in-person meeting. Formal action may or may not be taken, and any other action reasonably related thereto may also be taken.