A few weeks ago, I met Justin Musella, a Republican councilman from Parisippany-Troy Hills. Musella at a meetup of local political conservatives at Willie McBride’s in Branchburg. I asked him questions about his political influences and career.
What inspired you to become a conservative?
What inspired me probably goes back to my earliest days. My father taught me the value of earning my own rewards and they could be things as simple as incentives to complete chores around the house, and then eventually when it came to working in his business, I realized that once I had to start paying taxes and he showed me what he has to give to the government. I was like, well, how do we reduce whatever we give to the government and what the government takes from us. He said, “You should probably start looking at becoming a Republican.” That began my awakening so to speak, finding out that the money the government takes away from you has a direct correlation to your freedom and the dignity you’re allowed live with in life, so I’m a conservative because I want to make sure people have that maximum level in their own individual lives.
Is that what also inspired you to run for council in Parsippany?
Similarly, yes. However, it was on different issues. We were running because our town which was controlled by the Democrats was severely mismanaged under their entire administration. They were left a surplus of nearly $20 million, and at the end of the mayor’s administration, he spent that down to $600. For those who might be reading this, and are unaware of what a surplus is, it’s basically your town’s bank account. In addition, we saw that our town was constantly in the headlines for the wrong reasons, and so we ran to turn back that aircraft carrier that is a local government and steer it in the right direction.
What do you feel you have accomplished while in office?
Well, what I’ve accomplished so far is some little things that make a difference to people; we have re-done our town’s website to make it more accessible to the general public. In addition, I’m the first council member to offer office hours so every single month, I’ll meet with my constituents at a Starbucks, and I have found that it’s been a really great setting for me to get to know people and for people to have their problems addressed in a way that no other council member in my town has done before. Beyond that, we’ve put the right people in place with respect to hiring and choosing the right people to run our departments. We just hired a new business administrator, somebody who we interviewed rigorously to make sure that they’re aligned with our long-term vision of keeping taxes low, reducing spending wherever we can, making smart investments for the future, and ensuring that Parsippany is a town that people want to come, live in, play in, and raise their families in.
