Council Candidate Roy Messmer: The Alternative

It's doubtful anyone who knows him would say Roy Messmer is anything but a leader and a take-charge kind of guy.

A concerned citizen who regularly speaks his mind at municipal meetings, Messmer is making the leap to politician: The Republican is taking on the Team Parsippany slate of incumbents in hopes of winning a seat on the Town Council.

While Messmer agrees that he is no follower, he balked at the notion of being a politician.

"I am a concerned citizen standing up for people who don't go to the meetings," he said. "It's important to remind the people in power of who is really in charge here—the people who pay the bills, the taxpayers."

In his role as private citizen, Messmer didn't wait for the mayor or the council to address a topic. If he felt strongly about an issue, he booked a room at the main branch of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Free Public Library, spread the word via local news media and conducted his own alternative town hall meeting  for interested members of the public to attend.

And attend many did: Messmer's town halls attracted John and Jane Q. Parsippany as well as public officials, including Mayor James Barberio, Business Administrator Jasmine Lim and Municipal Alliance Chairwoman (and fellow Town Council candidate) Annelise Catanzaro.

The town hall meetings addressed issues that Messmer wants to tackle as a council member, among them government transparency, cutting municipal and school spending, reducing property taxes and enforcing housing occupancy laws.

One issue that has had the Republican Don Quixote up in arms is the mayor's handling of the sewer surplus.

Barberio used $700,000 of what was a more than $5 million surplus to pay down some of the township's general operating expenses. Another $1.6 million went toward an upgrade of Parsippany's ancient sewer plant. Messmer argued that the $700,000 plus the remaining $3.6 million surplus should be given back to ratepayers. Barberio countered that doing so would lead ultimately to higher taxes and fees for citizens.

Messmer collected petition signatures in an effort to put a stop to the mayor's action, but on May 17, the Town Council passed Barberio's $61.6 municipal budget—including his sewer surplus plan—by a unanimous vote.

The candidate said he may have been beaten, but insisted the incident shows that an alternative voice is needed on the council.

"Who else is going to speak up for the taxpayers?" asked Messmer, an inactive certified public accountant who has lived in Parsippany with his family for 18 years. "Who else is going to defend the character of the township? Who else is going to hold the mayor and the council accountable?

"The days of rubber-stamp governing have to end," the activist said. "It's time to focus on fiscal responsibility, cutting spending and looking out for the interests of those who pick up the tab."