Politics & Government

Meet James Barberio: Parsippany Mayoral Candidate

James Barberio is running against Jonathan Nelson.

Parsippany Patch has reached out to local candidates to find out more about them. Check out Parsippany Patch's Election Hub for information on all candidates. Here is information from James R. Barberio.

  • Barberio has lived in Lake Hiawatha for 17 years and the Lake Parsippany area previous to that.
  • Party Line: Republican
  • Age: 53
  • Family: I am married to my amazing wife Brenda and we have two wonderful children Angela and Jamie.
  • What is your education background? I am a 1979 graduate of Parsippany High School and I attended Montclair State University.
  • Why do you think you are qualified for this position? I am proud of the record we have developed in our first four years.  Under this Administration Parsippany-Troy Hills Township was listed as the number one place to live in New Jersey.  We have cut the size of government and we have passed a zero percent tax increase budget.
  • Why are you running for this elected office? We cannot turn back the clock.  We are making great progress in our community. The quality of life in Parsippany is quite good and I am proud of the true sense of community that exists. Bringing back Pride in Parsippany is important to me because it depicts the sentiments of township residents and unites the community in celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. My wife and I chose to raise our children so they too could enjoy all that our community has to offer. Because of our great love for this town it is only natural that we would work hard to make sure Parsippany remains a great place for all of our children to raise families of their own.
  • What are the three issues that most concern you? We need to continue to increase revenue while cutting costs to maintain the long-term fiscal well-being in our Township.
  • Explain your proposed approach to managing these issues. We will increase revenues by attracting new businesses to locate in commercial corridors like Jefferson Road.  We are coordinating with the Morris County Economic Development Corporation on the creation of a Parsippany Small Business Help Center and updating zoning ordinance to make existing office space more attractive to business.  We have already helped to add 1.7 million sq. ft. of newly occupied office space since I took office. We are always trying to decrease spending by continuing to look for ways to cut costs while maintaining services. Under the current administration we stayed under Gov. Christie’s 2% property tax cap, reduced sewer fees by $1.2 million, cut our debt service by $1.9 million, lowered energy costs by $314,000 and legal fees by $220,000, and reduced our workforce by 8% through attrition. We are doing more for less.
  • Have you held elected office before? I was sworn in as Mayor on Jan. 1, 2010.  Prior to that I served on the Township Council from 2002-2005 and 2007 to 2009.
  • What organizations do you belong to? I am a trustee of the Sons of Italy, a member of the New Jersey League of Municipalities Legislative Committee and I currently serve on the Parsippany-Troy Hills Library Board of Trustees and the Parsippany Police Athletic League Board of Directors.
  • Campaign websites: http://jamesbarberio.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/keepingparsippanyone
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Editor's Note: Patch will be posting these candidate questionnaires in the order that they are received back. For candidates who have not heard from Patch, please contact Kim@patch.com.


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