DePierro leads council ticket in Parsippany
Longtime Parsippany Councilman Michael dePierro is heading a Republican ticket of three candidates for three available seats on the township council in the 2015 election.
DePierro, former Councilman Vincent Ferrara and township business owner Loretta Gragnani — who also serves on the township Board of Adjustment — complete the slate, which will oppose another ticket led by Council President Paul Carifi Jr. in the June 2 Republican primary.
In addition to the seats held by Carifi and dePierro, the candidates will vie for a third seat being vacated by Councilman Brian Stanton, who has announced he is not running for a second term.
Carifi announced his re-election ticket earlier this month. He will run with Aida Visakay and John Beehler.
Carifi heads a 3-2 majority council faction with Louis Valori and Robert Peluso (both elected in 2013) that has clashed publicly with Mayor James Barberio and Township Attorney John Inglesino. dePierro has shown an independent streak on many occasions in council matters, but expressed in his campaign announcement that his intention was to "continue to work effectively with Mayor James Barberio to move our community forward."
"We know that our township needs a fiscally conservative elected body," dePierro said. "The fact is, your vote for me and my conservative Republican running mates will allow us to continue working on projects that will reduce taxes, keep government small and retain critical services.
Ferrara, who sat on the council from 2011 to 2013, lost his seat to the Valori-Peluso in a close 2013 primary election, during which Ferrara held a lead in the primary until the provisional ballots were counted. Ferrara and another unsuccessful primary candidate, Michael Strumolo, challenged the primary vote, alleging voter fraud and other violations of voting procedure that resulted in what they saw as a disproportional number of provisional votes for Valori and Peluso that turned the election.
Ten weeks after the primary, Judge Thomas Weisenbeck dismissed that challenge in Superior Court in Morristown, saying he had "significant cause for concern" about how the provisional votes were gathered, but concluded those possible discrepancies would not have changed the final outcome..
"I love Parsippany, I care about Parsippany and I believe the citizens of Parsippany wanted (to elect me)," Ferrara said of his primary loss and new bid to reclaim his council seat.
Ferrara, a businessman in the hospitality industry with bachelor's and master's degrees from Seton Hall University, is a member of the Parsippany Republican Club and a 10-year member of the Republican Municipal Committee, according to his campaign biography. Also a volunteer coach with the Parsippany Soccer Club, he has two children attending Parsippany schools.
Gragnani, who has owned and operated KBI Design Center in Lake Hiawatha for 29 years, said dePierro embraced her passion to learn more about "goings-on" in town and mentored her community and political involvement, which also includes serving as a legislative aide to Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce from 2013-14, according to her campaign biography.
Her efforts have netted her honors including a New Jersey State Volunteer Award from Gov. Chris Christie, and a township Outstanding Achievement award for relief efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
"I think we need a little bit of respect and decorum," Gragnani said of her desire to sit on the council.
Heading a long list of dePierro's accomplishments in the township include two terms as council president, 22 years on the planning board, six years on the township school board and serving as director of the Morris County School Board Association.
A past president of the Parsippany Rotary Club, dePierro has been married to his wife, Dee, for 54 years. They have three children and 10 grandchildren.
DePierro also is the only elected leader in Parsippany inducted into the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Hall of Fame.
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.