Four New Jersey members of the Democratic National Committee – Modia Butler, Bernadette McPherson, John Graham, and Marcia Marley – are supporting Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (D-Montclair)’s campaign to succeed Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district.
“Brendan Gill has always been a champion for working families, public education, and equity,” Marley said in a statement. “He’s smart, principled, and proven. Brendan brings people together to get things done, and he’ll be a powerful advocate for our values in Congress.”
Butler and McPherson both have longstanding ties to Gill, a top Democratic political operative. Butler is an advisor to Senator Cory Booker, whose 2014 re-election campaign was managed by Gill; McPherson, a former Rutherford mayor and Bergen County freeholder, spent years as an aide to the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), another Gill confidant.
Marley, meanwhile, is the president of BlueWaveNJ, a leading progressive activist group.
“I have seen Brendan’s work firsthand, when he served as Senator Cory Booker’s campaign manager in 2014 and through his work in Essex County and around the state,” Butler said. “He’s spent his career strengthening communities, protecting working families, and expanding opportunity.”
Gill faces ten other Democrats in the fast-approaching 11th district special election; thus far, he’s gotten the backing of Gov. Phil Murphy, seven state legislators, and a host of other local Democrats.
