Former Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella will seek the Democratic nomination for Assembly from the 10​th Legislative District. Barrella served two terms as Point Pleasant Beach Mayor from 2008 through 2015. When he was first elected in 2007 he was a political outsider having never held or run for a position in municipal, county or state government.

“Our current District 10 legislators have been totally ineffective in addressing the problems facing the State and its taxpayers,” said the candidate. “What they have been very good at is lining their own pockets with taxpayer dollars from patronage jobs. This has left the average Republican, Democrat, and Independent wondering – ‘What have they done for me?’ The answer is — ‘Nothing!’ I am running to change that. If I am fortunate enough to secure the nomination and prevail in November, I pledge to work for the residents and taxpayers of the 10​th District, and not for me or the political establishment our current legislators serve.”

Barrella served as Secretary and 1​st Vice President of the Ocean County Mayors’ Association. He was active in both the New Jersey Conference of Mayors as a member of its Board of Directors and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities as an active member of its Legislative committee and its Taxation and Finance subcommittee. He has authored numerous policy articles for​Municipalities magazine, as well as the ​Newark Star-Ledger and Asbury Park Press.

“New Jersey’s fiscal situation is akin to a large string of tangled Christmas lights. Fixing any one problem – education, pension, healthcare or property taxes — would be relatively easy, but with everything intertwined it is a formidable and daunting task,” said Barrella. “I believe that my educational and professional background, my work with Point Pleasant Beach’s municipal budget and my experience working on the Pace University budget make me uniquely qualified to tackle these problems.”

Barrella has lived in New Jersey since 1987 and has been a resident of Point Pleasant Beach since 1994. He has been married for 43 years to his wife Barbara and they have three adult children and recently were blessed with their first grandchild. He is a Professor of Legal Studies & Taxation at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in New York, a position he has held since 1984 and is currently Chair of the department. He recently retired from the practice of law in New York where he was admitted to the bar in 1979. He is not a member of the New Jersey bar.

Barrella comes from a working-class background. His father was a steelworker and his mother was a garment worker and bank clerk.

“I have always felt that not having any professional contacts with New Jersey allowed me to maintain my independence,” said the former mayor. “There was nothing I wanted, nor was there anything that the political establishment could take away from me. I will bring that same independence to the Assembly and always put the interests of my constituents first.”