PARSIPPANY – The Morris County Republican Committee (MCRC) held an Executive Committee meeting this week to hear an appeal from the Toby Anderson campaign that alleged procedural deficiencies in last week’s Republican County Committee convention were the reason for his 5-vote loss.

The Morris County Executive Committee consists of the MCRC Executive Board, the Municipal Chairs from 38 municipalities (Victory Gardens is vacant), the two-state committee representatives, the Chair of the Morris County Young Republicans, the Chair of the Morris County Teenage Republicans, and the President of the Women’s Republican Club.

After the Anderson Campaign failed to prove one point of their allegations, the Executive Committee voted unanimously to reject their appeal.  There was one abstention – Scott Russell acting Chair in Montville.  One witness was called from the Anderson campaign, at the suggestion of Russell, to give testimony that there were people registering after 7:30 p.m., which would have been against the Convention rules.  Under oath, she stated that she did not see that.  In fact, she only could say that she herself registered before 7:30 p.m. and there were no county committee members being registered after 7:30 p.m.

Other allegations that were presented by the campaign included that county committee members were permitted to vote that were not on the certified list as of February 25.  That was unable to be proven because it was false and not true.

Other allegations included opposition to procedures that were documented in the Rules of the Convention.  These Rules of the Convention were presented to each of the candidates at a  February 23, 2022 meeting where candidates were asked to provide input on them.  At the end of the meeting, all Candidates agreed to the rules. The Rules of the Convention supersede Roberts Rules in party Conventions and as mentioned above were agreed to by all the candidates.

“It’s unfortunate that some losing campaigns attribute their loss to election wrongdoings.  I should have been clearer about the most important rule of all regarding the Convention:  that not everyone will win.  And just because you lose, it doesn’t make it ok to scream from the rooftops and on social media that there was voter fraud.  Our convention was run with the help of nearly 50 volunteer Morris County Republicans who operate with the highest level of integrity, at all times throughout the convention,” Chairwoman Laura Marie Ali had to say.

“The sight from the podium, looking out at the sea of engaged spirited Republicans was something I’ll never forget!  It’s a great time to be a Morris County Republican!,” she added.

PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany Chapter of the Hindu Service Society celebrates Black History Month on February 27 at the Viraj Dham Temple. Gordon Drewery Jr. Minster of the Gospel First Baptist Church and Nora Drewery Licensed Social Worker and Storyteller presented a unique and interactive introduction to the History of the Black community and their journey to the US. They also covered the many contributions of black leaders, inventors, writers, scientists. They emphasized the essence of every human and how important it is to be proud of who we are. It was a rewarding experience for all the families that attended the event.

PARSIPPANY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement regarding the President’s decision to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil as gas prices continue to rise:

“I remain unwavering in my support of Ukraine and its people in their fight for freedom, the preservation of their democracy, and their ability to remain a sovereign nation free from coercion by Putin’s Russia. A few weeks ago, I visited Ukraine, spoke with President Zelensky, and have since been in close contact with the large Ukrainian American community in my district. They are united in their calls for the United States and the international community to continue to put pressure on Russia to end their unprovoked invasion, remove their troops from Ukraine’s borders, and end the humanitarian crisis.

“And while we must do everything we can to stand up to Putin as Russia continues to wage a premeditated, unprovoked war on a fragile democracy, I am also fighting hard to address affordability here at home. That’s why as we end all importation of Russian oil, I am calling for a gas tax holiday to ease prices at the pump.

“While stepping up our sanctions on Russia is necessary to preserve freedom and democracy abroad, I deeply understand Americans’ real and legitimate concerns about the potential effect this could have on gas prices. I will continue to push for additional steps our country can take to further bring down gas prices. We can do so by releasing more of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is stored for exactly this sort of crisis and will also lead to a prompt decrease in fuel prices, examine ways to increase production in the short term, and take aggressive steps to secure our energy independence by accelerating our transition to clean energy, so that we are never again dependent on hostile foreign powers for our fuel. Energy independence is a matter of national security and I will continue my efforts to make sure we can rely on energy that is produced in America, often with technology that is developed and manufactured in North Jersey.”

Rep. Sherrill is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Navy for almost 10 years as a helicopter pilot and Russian policy officer. As a Russian policy officer, she worked on the implementation of our nuclear treaty obligations and oversaw the relationship between the US Navy and Russian Federation Navy. She now serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

Rep. Sherrill traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine in January to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and other top Ukrainian officials. She is a member of the bipartisan Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and hosted former Randolph mayor and leader in the NJ-11 Ukrainian American community Roman Hirniak to be her virtual State of the Union guest. The Congresswoman is an original co-sponsor of the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, which codifies the ban on Russian exports, as well as the Gas Prices Relief Act to put into place a gas tax holiday.

PARSIPPANY — Saint Ann’s Annual Fish and Chips Dinner will be held at the Parish Center, 781 Smith Road, Parsippany, on Friday, March 25.  Take-out dinners will be available from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sit-down dinners will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Advance sale tickets will cost $18.00 (Children $10.00).  Tickets are available after Mass on March 12, 13, 19, and 20 and at the Church Office.  Only limited tickets will be available on the day of the event, so please purchase tickets early.

Proceeds from the dinner will be used to aid the people in Ukraine.

Please call (973) 884-1986 for more information.

PARSIPPANY — After taking office only 54 days ago, Mayor James Barberio held a fundraiser to a packed house attracting local residents, politicians, and friends.

The fundraiser was held at Barka’s Restaurant, Mountain Lakes.

Barberio unseated Former Mayor Michael Soriano (D) by winning 8,467 votes to 7,673.

James R. Barberio served as Mayor of the Township of Parsippany for eight years from 2010-2017. Prior to that, he served as a Councilman from 2002–2005 and 2008-2009. Barberio is a proud product of Parsippany, having graduated from Parsippany Hills High School in 1979. He has lived in Parsippany virtually his entire life.

PARSIPPANY — Building on the success of its inaugural NFT (non-fungible tokens) launch in late January, the Morris County Republican Committee has introduced a limited, convention-themed NFT prior to its Spring Nominating Convention on Friday, March 4.

In addition to its novelty and historic relevance, the Convention NFT provides investors with admission to the Convention and entry into contests for prizes at the Convention, said Laura Marie Ali, the MCRC Chairwoman. The Convention NFT also provides post-convention perks, including an invitation to breakfast with elected officials and candidates. More NFT ownership perks will be announced shortly, said Ali.

“This special MCRC Convention NFT is limited in quantity and represents the convention that will likely be responsible for selecting the candidates who will unseat congressional Democrats and put House seats back in Republican hands,” said Ali, noting that the Morris Republican County Committee will be selecting congressional candidates for CD7 and CD11.

An NFT is a non-fungible token, meaning that it is unique and authenticated via the Blockchain. NFTs are an exclusive form of digital asset that has been experiencing record-setting growth for the past year. An NFT can be resold since it is an asset belonging to the person who purchased it. The Morris County Republican Committee is the first Republican Committee in the country to launch NFTs as part of its digital marketing strategy.

For more information or to purchase a Morris County Republican NFT, click here.