PARSIPPANY – Morris County’s seven commissioners happily gathered around the podium Wednesday night.

They were there to support the reelection of Mayor Jamie Barberio, who officially announced plans to run again.

“We need a unified Parsippany in June to win Parsippany in November,” proclaimed Tayfun Selen, the board director.

LD-26 Assemblymen Brian Bergen and Jay Webber, who represent the county’s largest town, were there.

Webber gushed over Barberio, who has been mayor for 12 of the last 16 years, saying, “He’s better now than he’s ever been.”

The ballroom at the Knoll Country Club East was SRO; some attendees parked down the road and walked to the venue on a chilly night. This was not a fundraiser; admission was free. Food was served and there was a cash bar.

Over the top rhetoric and large crowds are not uncommon for such things.

But this one was a bit unusual. It wasn’t all that long ago that Barberio and county Republicans were on the outs.

Or as the mayor said in reference to county chair Laura Ali, “We were at odds.”

No more.

Barberio said Ali understood that “to move forward …  we all had to come together.”

In backing a unity push, Republicans point out that last fall Kamala Harris, Andy Kim and Rep. Mikie Sherrill all carried Parsippany. In other words, a Republican win in this year’s mayoral race is no guarantee.

One exception to the unity front was state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, who was not in attendance.

Barberio said that when he arrived in township hall after winning the 2009 election, the town was a mess after the financial crisis of 2008.

But now things are solid. He said there are surpluses in all areas and the township’s bond rating is good.

Barberio was out of office for four years after losing the 2017 election to Democrat Mike Soriano. He said Soriano was incompetent and that he had to right the ship when he returned to office after beating Soriano in 2021.

He urged voters not to make another mistake and elect an inexperienced mayor.

Barberio’s immediate competitor in the June primary is Councilman Justin Musellla.

Musella, who launched his candidacy last June, had an event himself Wednesday night – a fundraiser at the Social Hub a few miles away from the mayor’s affair. He said about 150 people attended.

A Democratic mayoral candidate has not been publicly announced yet.