Former Point Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella Running For Assembly

Former Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella will seek the Democratic nomination for Assembly in the 10th Legislative District.

Barrella, who served two terms as Point Pleasant Beach mayor from 2008 through 2015, could find himself running against his successor. Mayor Stephen Reid has announced he's running for the Assembly as a Republican.

Read more: Mayors Endorse Point Beach Mayor Stephen Reid For Assembly

Both will be vying for their party nomination to replace Republican Assemblyman David W. Wolfe in New Jersey's 10th District. Wolfe will be retiring from the Assembly in early 2020 after he announced he will not be seeking re-election this fall.

Barrella was actually a Republican until 2010. He ran against the Republican mayor in 2007 in the primary and then, he said, "Republicans and business interests" tried to recall him and he ran as independent in 2010.

In 2011, Barrella again ran as an independent when he won his second term. He beat Reid in a very close election.

When he was first elected in 2007, Barrella said, 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," he said. "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, Barrella said: " '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 10th District, and not for me or the political establishment our current legislators serve,” he said.

During his eight years as mayor, Barrella said, he was a tireless advocate for the residents and taxpayers of Point Pleasant Beach, Ocean County and New Jersey. He was a frequent visitor to Trenton advocating on behalf of his constituents on fiscal, public safety and Superstorm Sandy-related issues, he said.

Barrella served as secretary and 1st 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 said.

Barrella considers himself a problem-solver. He said he inherited a million-dollar-plus revenue shortfall when he took office in 2008. By the end of his last year in office, Point Pleasant Beach had a balanced budget and rising surplus.

He spearheaded the effort to bring Point Pleasant Beach back from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy which damaged or destroyed approximately half of its housing and its boardwalk and boardwalk business area, he said. Point Pleasant Beach was open for business the following summer.

“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. 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," hesaid.

Barrella 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 said he 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. 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," he said.

Patch photo