Dear Editor:

“Beware the Ides of March” is something I thought only existed in the classrooms where I’ve taught. I never thought I would be witnessing a Shakespearean tragedy unfold in the town I have lived in my whole life. 

I generally refrain from political commentary, but the exceptional circumstances around the Mayor’s vendetta against his opponent are so outrageous I felt the need to speak out. Mayor Barberio is committing “character assassination” against Councilman Musella for the most absurd reasons. This race should stay within the boundaries of the political issues my neighbors and I care about: skyrocketing taxes, degrading infrastructure, and the rampant overbuilding around Lake Parsippany.

I hope everybody shows up to the March 18 Council meeting to remind the mayor and council that we want the debate, not the destruction of dissenting voices.

Kevin Christman
Lifelong Lake Parsippany Resident & Republican Committee Member 

Dear Editor:

Parsippany continues to face an old and familiar stain of embarrassment. Recently, I was with some friends who don’t live in town, and they couldn’t understand why Parsippany constantly makes headlines for the wrong reasons.

The solution is straightforward: elect Justin Musella for Mayor, and Casey Parikh and John Bielen for Town Council.

The current mayor has returned as someone else—angry, bitter, and backward-looking. We need leaders who believe our best days are ahead, have great ideas, and can make Parsippany great again.

I encourage all Republicans to work hard to elect the tickets for Musella, Bielen, and Parikh!

Dipak Naik

Dear Editor:

I read articles with humor about censuring Musella. James R. Barberio sent his re-election bid to personal emails and text numbers disguised as Parsippany’s future to employees.

Some employees found this to be coercion. They worried that if they didn’t attend, they would be overlooked for promotions and raises.

He is now sending personal texts and emails about another event—more coercion.

Does Parsippany want James R. Barberio to be re-elected when he claims someone else is doing wrong since he is doing wrong?

Name withheld at the request of the writer in fear of retaliation.

Dear Editor:

Perhaps it’s time to lend a hand to the flailing Barberio campaign.

Swerving from last summer’s absurd and politically  self-serving  demand that the Board of  Education be audited to the newly resurrected and thoroughly discredited allegation that  Councilman Musella, almost two years ago, engaged in conduct that was illegal, it is clear that Mayor Barberio has lost his way. Rather than speaking the truth to Parsippany residents, Mr. Barberio has adopted a strategy driven by denial, deflection and deferral. As that strategy has only served to underscore the Mayor’s incompetence and incoherence, it is clear that Mayor needs to change course.

Perhaps, Councilman Musella could help Mayor Barberio find his way out of his self-inflicted political morass by offering the Mayor the opportunity to share a debate stage with him. A debate stage where Mayor Barberio could respond to the financial and safety issues that have multiplied during the past four years while he was Mayor. A debate stage where the residents of Parsippany could take the measure of the integrity, independence, accomplishments and potential of Mr. Musella and Mr. Barberio.

Bob Crawford

Dear Editor, 

I am writing to urge my fellow residents to come to Tuesday’s March 18th meeting at 7 pm at town hall to speak against the censure that the Town Council is looking to enact.  

The incident (attempting to get out of a traffic ticket for speeding) took place almost two (2) years ago and was long forgotten until it was dug up by Musella’s opponent .  The officer found that a warning was justified.  From all indications Mayor Barberio and his re-election team is looking to push Councilman Musella out of the GOP primary by revising what actually occurred.

There are many important issues that face Parsippany – and that’s what this election should be based on (not personal political attacks):

• Public Safety
• Education
• Economic Development
• Town Services (water/sewer/building/zoning/sanitation/etc)

I have been a resident of Parsippany for 57 years and have had pride in the town that I call home.  I am highly disappointed that Parsippany would participate in a smear campaign, rather than a battle of how to support Parsippany residents and their issues.  Justin Musella has proven time and time again that he is here for the residents of Parsippany! 

You have an opportunity this Tuesday to make a difference. You can let the Mayor and Council
know that leadership of this town is not to be won using false accusations.  I encourage you
to prepare a brief statement expressing your thoughts on the tactics being used in this election.  Your support will let the current administration know that the residents of Parsippany will not tolerate such behavior.

Sincerely,
Karin Kruse
Long-term Parsippany Resident

Dear Editor:

As a 20-year resident of Parsippany and lifelong Republican, I was appalled to read how James Barbeiro and his bobble-head council took Justin Musella to task over his wife’s speeding ticket of years past. Barberio seems to be grasping at straws to maintain his credibility as mayor. Justin Musella is a threat to him and the jealousy is apparent. It echoes the tactics of Democrats vs. President Trump, and we all know where that crusade got the Dems.

So, if that’s the game Barberio is playing, why not bring up Barberio’s son’s drug bust in 2018 or better still, Barberio’s call for leniency of a friend of his son who was arrested for 11 pounds (!) of marijuana in 2011. Both of these incidents occurred before Marijuana was deemed legal. It appears to me that those are far bigger skeletons in the mayor’s closet than a simple speeding ticket.

In my case, I had to reach out to Barbeiro on two occasions for much-needed assistance with my senior tax freeze: once by email and once in person. On each occasion, I never heard back from the mayor—not once! I guess he was too busy with one of his coffee klatches or another opportunity to tout his “home town boy” routine. I now have zero respect for the man.

The town is changing due to Inglesino’s mass development projects, and not for the better. We need fresh blood, and we need someone like Justin Musella, who answers my every email and phone call.

By the way, “Barberio” is a Portugese word that refers to a blood sucking insect. Google it. I’m not resorting to any name calling. Just simply stating a fact.

Don Faruolo

Dear Editor:

I am a long-time resident of Parsippany and have not been involved with local politics. Recently, I have been watching the mayoral race and am concerned about the impropriety of the move to censure Justin Musella for a claim of abuse of his authority during a traffic stop.

This appears to be a weaponizing act by our local government to control who is in this election period. I do protest this “gaming” of the rules to damage opponents. This case has not produced any evidence in the police report of abuse of authority. In addition, it does seem that Mr. Musella, the passenger in the moving violation, did not attempt to “beat the ticket.” The police officer identified Mr. Musella at the beginning of the stop and exercised his discretion to issue either the ticket or a warning, and he made his choice. Why even bring this up two years after this incident?

Do not allow dirty politics to enter our city government, and such a transparent attempt at that would only cause a lack of trust in our city and its representatives. If this censure does occur, it will impact my future voting.

Michael E Poplawski

Dear Editor:

Less than three months before the primary election in Parsippany, the Mayor and his colleagues on the Town Council are delving into dirty politics, which is detrimental to the town.

Personal attacks are often used by incumbents in election primaries when they can’t defend their own decisions and policies. The Town Council meeting of March 4 stooped to a new low. It was extraordinary in its abundance of “holier than thou” sentiment and the absence of due process and justice. Based on unsupported innuendo, and the citation of a law, the Council moved into dangerous territory to pass a resolution of censure for Mr. Musella because, on video, Musella’s wife, who was driving, handed his business card, along with license, registration and insurance, to a police officer who had already recognized and acknowledged Mr. Musella. Since the police officer recognized Mr. Musella before he was handed the card by Musella’s wife, handing the card to the police officer was meaningless.

The March 4 Town Council Agenda did not include any notice of censure. Yet the censure was undoubtedly planned before the meeting. The Town Council is free to operate its meetings as it chooses, but such an important item as a censure of a Town Council member should be included in the agenda for discussion and should not be voted on in the same session, so there is a cooling off period. The original motion was to discuss the issue. That discussion quickly morphed into a vote for a resolution of a censure. The Town Council should implement that reform as soon as possible.

The censure theatrics are just the latest distraction to avoid discussing the Mayor’s record. Since the highly touted announcement in September 2024 of a partnership between the Mayor and the BOE, there has been no progress towards a signed shared annual revenue per pupil agreement or any other kind of agreement. The upside for the town from a revenue per pupil agreement is that the town pays no money to the school district UNTIL children living in PILOT Projects are enrolled in school. The downside is that even with such an agreement, there is little chance that the school district will recoup the full cost of educating those additional students. Based on demographic studies, estimates of a net increase of 300 additional students over the next few years will result in a low-ball estimate of $6 million to $7 million in additional costs per year. Those projected costs are in addition to the structural budget problems discussed at the March 13 Board of Education meeting.
Last year, instead of addressing the concerns of the town regarding the lack of revenue to fund the future influx of students due to PILOTS, the Mayor attempted another distraction and proposed an ill-conceived and nebulous BOE “audit” (later changed to a “review”). There was later clarification that the review would be of the number of students in the district. That number is closely monitored and updated constantly. It was a curious decision to hire an accountant for this purpose as such a review is not something an accountant would normally engage in or have experience in, especially one with no ties to Parsippany. This mismatch is mentioned in a Letter to the Editor by this citizen on 09/20/2024. Adding to the folly, months later there haven’t been any reported results for this engagement which should have required only a day of fieldwork.

The question was asked at the time whether hiring the auditor should have been charged to the Mayor’s campaign as this tactic was certainly for political purposes only and had nothing to do with good governance. Examining the ethics of this “review,” for which to this day, there are no findings, would undoubtedly be a much better use of the Town Council’s time than a censure for getting out of a speeding ticket with a warning, a benefit given to many, if not most people, not just Town Council members. If this is the worst thing on Musella, he must be very honest.

Voters need information on both candidates. Before the primary vote, there should be at least one debate, so the citizens of Parsippany are informed when they go to the voting booth.. Still, such

Respectfully,
Jack S. Raia