MONTCLAIR - Brendan Gill scanned his crowd of supporters Monday night and saw many elected officials in front of him. Two of them, Joe DiVincenzo, the Essex County executive, and Renee Baskerville, the city's mayor, were actually beside him at the mic.

This wasn't just for show. Gill used it to make a point.

As he reviewed the many elected officials supporting him, Gill said:

"There are people in this race ... who said that was a negative."

The 100 or so people crammed into a room at the city's MC Hotel began to boo.

"Yeah, we can boo that," Gill said.

Gill, an Essex County commissioner, is one of 12 Democrats seeking the party's nod to replace Mikie Sherrill in CD-11, which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties. The primary is Feb. 5 and the general election is April 16.

On this night - 30 days before the primary - Gill's point was that the many officials backing him is proof of his ability and leadership. The room included elected officials from Montclair, Bloomfield and Essex County itself, among other locales.  There was also union support, as Gill was endorsed by Teamsters Joint Council 73. Representatives of the NJEA were also in the room; Gill's father is a former teacher.

"I hope that their support is about what we did together, not about machine politics," Gill said.

Baskerville, the city's mayor, struck a philosophical tone, saying:

"Democracy does not defend itself ... Freedom does not protect itself. Prayer and hope alone don't win elections."

The point was for Gill supporters to organize. That is always important, but more so with a special election.

After all, how many voters will know there is an election in February, and on a Thursday no less?

One answer is to get people to vote by mail. As DiVincenzo said:

"It could be snowing that day. (Feb. 5). It could be all kinds of things."

Elsewhere in CD-11, Tom Malinowski, the former CD-7 congressman, spoke on Facebook about a "successful Weekend of Action across the 11th! The next 31 days will be critical to getting out the vote and winning this race."

Tahesha Way, the lieutenant governor, spent Sunday with Gov. Phil Murphy and wife, Tammy, at MetLife Stadium. Way's husband, Charles, is a former Giant fullback.

"Good football. Great people. Even better conversations," is how she put it.

Well, the Giants did win Sunday, so no one can quibble with the "good football" line.

One other CD-11 note.

Candidate Justin Strickland recently unveiled a huge billboard on Route 10 in Morris County that urges a vote for him. He hyped it on his social media page - complete with music. Really.