Statement from Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill on the NJ-11 Special Election Primary for Congress

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Today, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, released the following statement:

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you!  As we bring our campaign to a close, I want to speak to you directly and from the heart.  I know many of you are feeling disappointment, which I am also feeling. But what we did together — the people we brought into the process, the conversations we sparked, the relationships that each of you built, and the values we stood up for — matters deeply and will endure far beyond this campaign.

You gave so much of your time, your energy, your resources, and your hearts because you believed deeply in this campaign and in what it stood for.  And still, what remains is resilience.

To our volunteers: you showed up again and again in difficult weather, after long days, and during moments when the work felt heavy. You knocked doors, made calls, had hard conversations, and refused to give up on your neighbors or your community. That persistence, that resilience, is the backbone of everything we accomplished.

To our donors: thank you for investing not just financially, but emotionally, in this campaign. You believed in a vision rooted in fairness, dignity, and public service, and your trust carried us through every stage of this race.

To every supporter who stood with us: thank you for reminding us that democracy is built by people — people who care, who organize, who show up even when outcomes are uncertain. This campaign proved that politics can still be grounded in values and driven by love for our communities.

While this chapter has ended, the work ahead is clear. Our Democratic Party is only as strong as the people willing to build it — block by block, campaign by campaign, year by year. We must continue organizing, supporting, and electing candidates who stand with us on the issues and values we collectively hold: justice, opportunity, compassion, and a belief that government should serve the many, not the few.

This campaign did not end in victory at the ballot box, but it did strengthen a movement and a community committed to doing the hard work democracy demands. That matters. It always has.

As you likely know, I have endorsed Analilia Mejia. While we don’t yet know the final result of the special primary election or who the democratic nominee will be for the April special general election, I believe that Analilia Mejia most aligns with the values and policy positions that centered our campaign. I invite you to join this campaign with me because the road ahead to keep this seat aligned with our values needs our help.

I am profoundly grateful for each of you. I am proud of what we built together. And we carry forward — resilient, united, and determined — to keep fighting for the future we believe in.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

About Brendan Gill

Brendan Gill is an Essex County Commissioner and a longtime civic leader.  Born and raised in Montclair to a 53-year public school educator and union member, Brendan has a long record of fighting to protect fundamental rights, strengthening the middle class, investing in transportation and infrastructure, and defending democratic institutions. Brendan serves as chair of the Montclair Democrats, the most progressive Democratic party in the State of New Jersey, with more than 14,000 volunteers.  He is married to Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill, the first Colombian-American to serve in the state legislature.  Together, they are raising two children, Gabriel and Kristen.