PARSIPPANY - There will be no official reprimand for Justin Musella.

The council on Tuesday rejected censuring the councilman for showing a cop his township business card after his wife was stopped for speeding in the summer of 2023. The censure resolution was pushed by Mayor Jamie Barberio (pictured, above).

Musella is challenging Barberio in the June Republican primary and this issue seemed to galvanize this

sprawling Morris County town.

The resolution was to be voted on last week, but the meeting was postponed because the crowd was so large. This week, the meeting was moved from township hall to a local high school.

Most of the audience was on Musella's side.

In voting "no," Councilman Matt McGrath proposed that going forward, the township adopt a policy stating that elected officials stopped for traffic violations are automatically given tickets.

"We should not be able to get away with something," he said.

That's an interesting thought, but cops always have discretion.

As for Musella, he said in retrospect that he wishes his wife was given a ticket back in 2023.

"We would have paid it and that would have been the end of this," he said.

One other point worth mentioning.

A few council members said they originally wanted to handle the matter behind "closed doors."

Really.

Good thing that didn't happen. This issue rightfully unfolded in public.

It was a speeding violation, not war plans.