Parsippany GOP mayor holds narrow lead in re-election bid

Parsippany Mayor James Barberio holds a 209-vote lead over Democrat Pulkit Desai, 9,542 to 9,333 (50.4%-49.3%).

Democrats flipped two council seats, with Matt Kavanaugh (10,056) and Diya Patel (9,802) ousting Republican Councilman Frank Neglia (8,401).  Jigar Shah, seeking an open GOP seat, finished fourth with 7,962 votes.

Boonton Councilman Thomas Meehan has a 17-vote lead over Democrat Caro Morokoff in his bid to retain his Ward 1 town council seat.

Mark Washburne, who won 3.4% of the vote in Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s first Democratic congressional primary in 2018 – Sherrill received 77% — lost his bid for mayor of Mendham Borough; Republican James Kelly, who became the incumbent after Christine Serrano Glassner resigned in January to join President Donald Trump’s White House staff, defeated Washburne, 56%-44%.

In Mendham Township, Democratic Township Committeewoman Lauren Spirig holds a six-vote lead over Republican Gary Kapner.  A GOP incumbent, Tracey Moreen, is 41 votes ahead of Spirig; another Democrat, Clare Hackney is solidly in fourth place.

Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty won a 59%-26% victory over Republican Bruce Meringolo, a former Long Hill mayor.  An independent Andrea Lekberg, received 15%.

Democrats flipped at least one seat on the Rockaway Township Council – Susan Fahrman Royek defeated incumbent Mary Noon in Ward 1 – and maybe two: in Ward 3, Democrat Sophia Freire leads Douglas Brookes by 47 votes.  If Freire’s lead holds, the Republican majority would be reduced from 7-2 to 5-4; that would make renegade Republican Tucker Kelley, who ousted incumbent Rachael Brookes in the primary and won the general by ten points, the swing vote on the council.

In Wharton, Democrats flipped two borough council seats: Marisa Gonzalez (1,143) and Jennifer Hobbs (1,082) ousted incumbents Robert Norton (901) and Paola Vasquez (892).