Let the race begin.
Supporters of Nia Gill and Mark Alexander, who are competing for State Senate in the 34th Legislative District, are holding fundraisers in Montclair this month to boost their candidates.
An intimate conversation this Sunday with Mark Alexander at the home of Lauren and Charles Rosen (a former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton) has already filled to capacity, said Communications Director Matthew Jordan.
“There has been widespread support for Mark throughout the district,” he said.
An event for Nia Gill will be held at 18 Label Studios on April 17 at 6:00pm. The fundraiser is hosted by Steven Plofker and Bobbi Brown, and co-chaired by, among others, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and Plofker’s business associate David Genova. There is a suggested $500 contribution. For more information or to RSVP (by April 12) contact Dannielle at 973-865-2540 or dannielle@optonline.net.
The primary race has drawn a lot of attention since Alexander announced his intention to run last July. In February, the Seton Hall professor and former senior adviser to Barack Obama was profiled in the Wall Street Journal for rankling the establishment by abruptly entering the race without working his way up the Democratic establishment.
Gill, who is also a lawyer as well as a longtime Montclair resident, has represented the 34th Legislative District for more than a decade and has served as Senator President Pro-Tempore since January 2010.
The Essex County Democratic Party has yet to endorse a candidate, though Chairman Phil Thigpen told the Star-Ledger last month that Gill holds the edge. Others, reported the Star-Ledger, confided that if they were to abandon Gill, it would be for a home-grown veteran and not Alexander.
Alexander, in the meantime, got a boost from former U.S. Senator and Montclair resident Bill Bradley, who announced his endorsement of his former intern in March. His coffers are filling up, too.
Nia Gill-time to get a job. Term limits, please. More than a decade is long enough.