Field set for bitter Parsippany GOP primary as mayor's rival names council running mates
PARSIPPANY — The field for what could be the most competitive primary campaign in Morris County this year got a little more crowded when Councilman Justin Musella announced his running mates on Monday night in a bid to unseat Mayor James Barberio.
A gathering of about 75 supporters filled the Lake Parsippany Clubhouse, where Musella introduced former Planning Board Chairman Casey Parikh and John Bielen as the candidates on his ticket for two open seats on the council.
"Our campaign is dedicated to finally ending the cycle of over-taxation, taxpayer-funded overdevelopment and to end local mismanagement once and for all," Musella said. "But I can't do it alone."
Barberio, Musella and the council candidates will face off in the June 10 Republican primary. Democrats have yet to announce their candidates for this year's election.
Musella said he met Bielen at a council meeting in December 2023 that drew more than 800 residents to the Parsippany PAL building. That meeting turned into an angry, seven-hour confrontation between local citizens and the mayor and council over the tax breaks known as PILOTs given to several developers.
Barberio and his council allies say the deals give builders incentives to knock down vacant office buildings in town and replace them with revenue-generating properties.
Bielen , 38, a business development professional involved in coaching local youth sports teams, said the 2023 session was the "final straw" motivating him to get involved in local government.
"Our town needs new leaders," he said. "We have to put our residents first, and not special interests. For too long, we have watched taxes go up, spending get out of control and our voices get ignored as you guys saw last December."
Last month, Barberio announced he would run with incumbent Frank Neglia and Jigar Shah, the mayor's longtime appointed liaison to Parsippany's large Indian community.
Parikh also enjoys a high profile in the community, which comprised 38% of Parsippany's 56,000 residents in the 2023 Census.
Parikh, a retired engineer and former county planning board member, said he lost his municipal planning board seat after unsuccessfully running for council with then-Councilman Robert Peluso against Barberio's primary ticket in 2017.
"Parsippany used to be a town where residents always came first," Parikh said. "Now it's all about what is in the newspaper: ribbon-cutting, backroom deals and pushing development that none of us want.
"The council approves everything he wants," Parikh said, referring to Barberio. "Meanwhile, our taxes and utility charges are going up. Permits have been delayed."
Parikh also took aim at Shah, dismissing him as Barberio's "political pawn."
"Can anyone tell me what [Shah] has done for our Indian community?" he said. "He just plays politics. And he's our liaison for eight years. We need to change this town."
By far the largest municipality in Morris County by population, Parsippany is also the only Morris town to employ a full-time mayor. Barberio currently enjoys a 3-2 majority support on the council, where Musella and Democrat Judy Hernandez frequently push back on his initiatives.
Barberio served two terms as mayor before losing to Democrat Michael Soriano in 2017, but he regained the office by beating Soriano in the 2021 election. Musella was his running mate at that point.
Neglia a former Parsippany Board of Education president elected with Barberio and Musella in 2021, has remained a staunch ally of the mayor. With Musella's seat opening, and Neglia on the ballot, the two council elections will determine whether Barberio can keep his control of the council as well as his own office.
"Four years ago, we won a huge election," Musella said. "I ran with Councilman Neglia and Mayor Barberio and we took out the previous Democratic administration on some simple promises. I wish the other two kept their promises. If they had, I wouldn't be here tonight."
Barberio responded to the challenger's remarks Tuesday morning. Musella, he said, "is unfit to be mayor because he abuses his power for his own personal benefit and offers no solution for Parsippany's future."
The other current council members, Republicans Paul Carifi Jr. and Matt McGrath, are supporting Barberio in the primary, as is the Morris County Republican Committee, which denied Barberio an endorsement in 2021.
The committee, led by county GOP Chairwoman Laura Ali, initially supported Musella's mayoral campaign when he announced last June. But Ali recently switched to Barberio's side and tried to broker a compromise between the two bitter rivals. Musella refused and pressed on with his bid to remove the incumbent from office for a second time.
"We are up against the machine," Musella said on Monday. "We are up against the establishment. And I believe that our movement has found two other champions who are going to step forward."
Board of Education member Andrew Choffo, a former critic of Barberio who introduced Musella at the councilman's mayoral campaign kickoff, also recently abandoned Musella to back Barberio.
More: Parsippany demolished 2 million square feet of office space. Here's what will replace it
Choffo, along with board members Suzy Golderer and Tim Berrios, were frequent speakers at council meetings over the past two years, objecting to how revenues from the PILOT deals were paid directly to the town, cutting out the school district. That's in contrast to the way traditional property tax payments are designated for the school system.
With Choffo now behind Barberio, and Golderer voted off the board last year, Berrios found himself a lone wolf at Musella's campaign event.
"I'm a party of one, yes," Berrios said Monday. "Unfortunately I'm old enough to know how politics works. Does it trouble me? Yes. Was it surprising to me personally? Yes. But it is what it is. I can only speak for myself."
He plans to help the Musella campaign as it progresses to the primary on June 10.
"I like his message and I'm concerned about the overdevelopment," Berrios said. "Right now the current administration is not willing to negotiate with the school board."
Choffo defended his change of heart at Barberio's campaign kickoff in February.
"You may recognize me because in June of last year, I spoke for the other guy," he said. "The best way I can say it, it was kind of a new shiny penny effect. There was the calling out of problems, but no solutions offered."
Choffo and Berrios have both stressed their comments on the campaign were made as private citizens, not school board members.
Other Parsippany residents also stepped up at Monday's event to endorse the Musella ticket, including Hank Heller.
"I think we have had a number of issues come up in Parsippany," he said, citing the union-friendly "project labor agreements" and developer tax breaks approved under Barberio.
Those debates "have not been resolved to most of the residents' satisfaction, but were in fact resolved to political satisfaction," Heller said. "I'm not satisfied with that. I think that's wrong."
Anthony Longo agreed. "We need somebody who can see the other side of what's going on and care for the people first instead of big corporations," he told Musella's supporters.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Parsippany GOP ticket looks to unseat mayor, councilmen in primary
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