Politics & Government

It's Gill by a Landslide

Chair of Montclair Dems Bests Nutley's Rogers

Steven Rogers had an uphill battle going into Tuesday’s election. Had he won, he would have been the first Republican since 2002 to represent District 5 on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

But it was not to be.

Rogers, of Nutley, lost decisively to his Democratic opponent Brendan Gill. Rogers earned 6,326 votes to the 10,414 received by Gill, who will represent the district on the nine-member board. District 5 consists of Gill’s hometown of Montclair as well as Bloomfield, Belleville, Glen Ridge and Nutley.

Those results are unofficial but with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, according to the Essex County Clerk's website.

Gill, an advisor to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, has said he will employ his federal government experience to ensure that the district is getting the most money possible from outside sources like state and federal grants. He also said he will help the towns and the county government share services as a way to reduce the property tax burden for local communities.

Gill, 37, celebrated his victory with about 150 friends and supporters Tuesday night at Tosca restaurant on Church Street in Montclair.

Many local politicians stopped by to congratulate Gill, including Montclair Mayor Jerry Fried, Deputy Mayor Kathryn Weller-Demming, and council members Rich Murnick and Nick Lewis, among others.

"I was born on election day, November 5 in 1974, and I always talk about that and it feels good to be here on this election day, celebrating a victory," Gill said Tuesday night. "I've run campaigns and I've lost some along the way. I'm overwhelmed and overjoyed at the response today."

When asked what made the difference in the campaign, Gill emphasized that he ran a positive campaign, one that expressed the values of the town of Montclair, where he lives with his wife Alixon Collazos-Gill, a Colombia native, and their son Gabriel, a toddler.

Gill said he is thrilled to be standing up for people like his father, a Montclair teacher for 41 years.

"I am standing up for people who have dedicated themselves to public service," he said.

Gill also said that he will fight to make sure towns such as Montclair are affordable.

"I know people are concerned about property taxes and keeping taxes as low as possible," he said. "I want to make sure people can afford to live here."

Find out what's happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gill again emphasized the positive slant to his campaign when he turned out to vote at Mount Hebron Middle School.

"My campaign literature was all positive. [Rogers' literature] was not," he said. "I told people where I felt we should go in the future. I know Mr. Rogers and I think he's a good person. But we have different views about things.

"I have talked a lot about hope and I do believe there is an undercurrent of national themes in this county election," Gill added. "My approach is that we can try to be the best we can be and that it's possible to get government back on track."

Gill, who serves as chairman of the Montclair Democratic Party, has served in all levels of government and has run numerous political campaigns.

"One of the reasons I chose public service as my career is because I truly believe we can change things," Gill said. "I think it's unfortunate that it's a negative thing to people when you say you've been in politics and government your entire life.

"That's bad and I wish to change the impression and prove that going into public service is a good thing," he said.

Meanwhile, Rogers, a retired Nutley police lieutenant and member of the Nutley Board of Education, ran on a platform accusing the county of unduly burdening District 5 taxpayers while delivering little in return. Rogers supported a spending freeze as well as forensic audits of all county departments to identify wasteful spending. 

Find out what's happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Rogers did not return calls seeking comment late Tuesday night.


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