Three Democrats Announce Candidacy

Township Democrats Annelise Catanzaro, Janice McCarthy and Tom Wyka kicked off their campaign for council Saturday at the .

They will be running against against three GOP incumbents for three four-year council seats. Their opponents are Council President John Fox, Council Vice President Michael dePierro and Councilman Brian Stanton.

Annelise Catanzaro is a fourth-generation resident of Parsippany and has been involved with local government for several years. She is serving her third term as chairwoman of Parsippany’s Municipal Alliance Committee, which manages the county grant funding for the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse in Parsippany. 

Catanzaro is also a member of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey. She is the director of Business Development for Vertical Health, LLC a Montclair-based medical communications company, and resides with her husband Chris Halbach in Lake Hiawatha.

Janice McCarthy is a financial professional who has managed and directed financial operations for ADP and Ingersoll-Rand. After her career in corporate management, she accepted a position providing support for the budget and planning function at Montclair State University.

For several years, McCarthy has served on the Board of Trustees for a local homeowners association and now provides financial services for the organization. She and her husband Joe have lived in Parsipanny for 24 years.

Wyka is an information technology project manager in web marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. Wyka is active as a parent in Cub Scout Pack 177,  a PAL football coach, and on the finance board of St. Christopher's church.  He ran for U.S. Congress in 2006 and 2008, and is currently a good-government activist and mentor in the non-partisan Citizens’ Campaign organization. He is also a board member of NJ Foundation for Open Government. Wyka is an 18-year resident of Parsippany. He and his wife Betty have two children.