Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Being Parsippany born and raised, I moved back to town after college with hopes of settling down and living here in town. Only to be struck with the reality that the rent prices, property taxes, and other township costs were too high for me to afford. Parsippany was once a place young families could settle down and senior citizens retire comfortably, but that is no longer the reality. Parsippany is being monopolized by the small, wealthy, well-connected portion of the population, and it is hurting our everyday citizens. I want to provide our citizens, my neighbors, friends, and family with representation that reflects them, their priorities, and values. 2. What do you believe to be the most pressing issue in the community, and what do you intend to do about it if elected? I have worked in public service since high school and am passionate about serving the people of our town. In high school, I began working on Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s first congressional campaign in 2018. Then, in college, I worked for the Mayor of Scranton, Paige Cognetti, providing residents of the city with information and resources during the COVID-19 crisis. Now as a law student, I have worked for a judge in the court system and the Bronx District Attorney. These experiences have provided me with the experience needed to provide our residents with true, honest representation. Furthermore, my legal education provides me with the education necessary to understand and implement municipal ordinances, programs, and projects. 4. Overdevelopment has been a growing concern throughout NJ. How do you intend to address it in your community? Overdevelopment is a growing concern for us here in Parsippany. My personal opinion is that our current administration has not thoughtfully or meaningfully developed our town. We have seen more residential development and reduced commercial development here in Parsippany. This increase in residential development has increased our long-term residents but has created a burden on our schools, roads, and emergency services. It is time to shift Parsippany’s development priorities from residential to commercial. Given that our town has met its affordable housing requirements for the next decade, now is the time for our town to thoughtfully create some walkable downtown areas with small businesses that are meant to attract short-term taxpayers and not long-term residents. 5. If you are running against an incumbent, where do you believe they’re lacking in serving the community? If you are an incumbent, what areas, if any, do you think you could improve upon in terms of public service? Our current administration serves corporate interests not the community. We have seen this in the ways in which Mayor Barberio has flip-flopped on his stance of PILOTs. In 2020, he publicly stated his vehement opposition for 600 proposed units only to go on to approve at least double that during his term. Councilman Neglia in June 2025 told voters that our school would not see students from these developments for at least six years, only for our town to see 6 new students from one of the developments begin school this September (2025). Our current administration has no issue prioritizing their corporate donors over the citizens who elected them. My number 1 priority has been and always will be our citizens.
