Belleville Township Manager Brian Banda is facing a DUI charge after police pulled him over late at night at the end of September, accusing him of drifting outside marked lanes before the stop. Banda, 42, was charged with operating under the influence of liquor or drugs, careless driving and failure to observe traffic lanes, stemming from the Sept. 29 incident.
According to nj.com, court-record information shows Banda was pulled over in a BMW station wagon around 10:30 p.m. at Washington Avenue and King Street in Belleville. Belleville police officers reported observing Banda driving outside of marked lanes on Washington Avenue at Carmer Avenue just before the stop, the outlet reported, citing court records.
Banda did not immediately respond to a voicemail or email seeking comment, per the same account.
Case Shifting to a Different Court
Banda's case was originally scheduled to be heard Oct. 15 in Belleville Municipal Court. But the proceeding is now being moved to another jurisdiction to avoid a conflict, Belleville municipal court administrator Yara A. Bossolt said, according to the nj.com report.
From Planning Aide to Township Manager
Banda has held his post since August 2024, when he succeeded Anthony Iacono as Belleville's township manager. The Belleville Town Council made the appointment official at its Aug. 19, 2024, meeting, passing the torch from Iacono to Banda, according to Patch.
Before taking the top administrative job, Banda worked as a township planning aide and served on Belleville's Planning Board, the nj.com report notes. The article does not address whether Banda remains in his position as township manager or whether the township has taken any employment action since the charges were filed.
Not the Only Local Official Facing DUI Scrutiny
Banda's case echoes another recent DUI matter involving a New Jersey municipal official. Phillip Orphanidis, a former deputy chief of staff to then-Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, was arrested in Jersey City on Sept. 30, 2025, in connection with a DUI-related incident, as reported by nj.com. He was charged with driving under the influence, assault by auto, driving with an expired license, failure to possess an insurance card and refusal to submit to a chemical test.
That case was transferred to Hudson County Superior Court on Oct. 1 before being returned to Jersey City Municipal Court two weeks later. Jersey City Mayor James Solomon's office later released police body-camera footage of Orphanidis' arrest following an Open Public Records Act request, and in January 2026 Solomon removed Orphanidis from his job as an assistant director of community development, though Orphanidis remained employed by Jersey City as a systems analyst.
