A Raucous, Over-Capacity Crowd Shuts Down Parsippany Council Meeting

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The fractious primary race between Republican mayoral candidates James Barberio, the current mayor, and Justin Musella, a current councilman, ignited at Tuesday's meeting of the mayor and council as a raucous over-capacity crows shut the meeting down before business could be conducted.

The two camps have been fiercely divided since Musella's 2024 announcement of his intent to run against Barberio in the mayoral election, and as part of their contentious back and forth, Barberio has spear-headed an ethical violation accusation against Musella claiming he used his council position to get out of a speeding ticket.

Supporters of Musella attended the meeting Tuesday to protest anticipated votes to censure the councilman. However, those in favor of Barberio argued that Musella was responsible for organizing the large gathering of his supporters at Town Hall in hopes of forcing an adjournment.

Council President Paul Carifi Jr. told the crowd of 250 attendees that those without seats needed to leave or move to the hallway to stand, prompting angry outbursts from the crowd.

“No yelling out from the crowd, please,” Barberio said.

An individual in the front row began a heated exchange with the council.

“Why don’t you get up and give your seat to somebody a little older?” Barberio said to the individual, before yelling “That would be the polite thing to do!”

The Fire Marshall informed the council and attendees that the building was over capacity, causing a safety hazard. He advised it needed to be reduced to sitting room only.

“We should provide relief so people can sit and stay so they can witness your abuse of power,” an attendee said to the council.

The meeting was shut down shortly after as the number of attendees present exceeded the 124-seat capacity of Town Hall. Video of the meeting can be viewed here.

The Town Council will reconvene on March 25.