Carifi for Mayor Campaign Adds Ticketmates

Town Council member Paul Carifi Jr.. running for mayor, now has company in his bid for the top job at Town Hall.

Carifi for Mayor announced Thursday that Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce President Robert J. Peluso and retired Parsippany Police Sgt. Louis Valori, who launched their joint campaign for council last month, will join the challengers' ticket.

Carifi said he recently met with Peluso and Valori in Lake Parsippany to discuss their campaign platforms.

“Like many people in our community, our families mean everything to us, and it became clear to me that this year’s election is about Parsippany’s future," he said. "It’s about who is best prepared to face the challenges ahead to make Parsippany, said Carifi.

Peluso noted that the three found they had much in common and decided they can do more by working together.

“Collectively we found few things more enjoyable than working with our community through our combined 70 years of accomplishment in serving our community," he said.

Valori agreed.

“It is clear that our diversity in education, knowledge, and experience makes us a solid team to lead Parsippany,” he said.

In a joint statement, Carifi, Peluso and Valori said their focus will be to fix what is broken and improve what is good.

"We face some real challenges in our community," the statement read. "The cost of living is increasing and we are taking home less to cover the expenses that are mandated upon us through taxes. Traffic has been increasing, flooding issues have not been resolved and businesses are moving out at an alarming rate."

The ticket said it will focus on facing "the tough challenges" and working to ensure citizens' tax dollars are spent wisely.

The ticket will face off in the June 4 Republican primary against Mayor James Barberio, who so far is running unofficially with Milin Shah.