Thank you for this helpful overview. A few other issues to mention - in 2023, Gill tried to take his wife’s assembly seat and activists had to rally to make sure that did not happen. Also, there is a culture of fear, intimidation, and corruption - I don’t know a single person who authentically supports him. I object to the “brilliant” description- none of his political moves are brilliant unless threats and payoffs are brilliant. The machine is getting a reputation for shielding harassers - not a good look.
Here's a thought experiment: Let's say you accept Gill's account on each dispute. He still ran a notoriously toxic campaign in 2017, and he still has been arm-in-arm with every machine player. He still pleaded guilty to assault. And most important, Tom Malinowski is much better qualified after serving two terms in Congress, in the Obama State Department, and as Washington director for Human Rights Watch, one of the great human rights advocates on the globe. I don't see it as a close content, based just on that, even dismissing the baggage....And of course, Republicans will not dismiss the baggage come November.
I think that explains why Andy Kim endorsed Malinowski, as did Jamie Raskin.
I respect you a lot Tom, but Malinowski is not the best candidate for this district. He lives 10 minutes from the Pennsylvania border and has an open investigation in the house ethics committee for insider trading. This investigation will resume the moment he would be sworn in. Kim is backing him because the two of them decided to horse trade when Kim was running for Senate in 2024.
Tom's issue doesn't seem as bad to me, but also it's okay to say that it's exactly how he'll be painted in April, and potentially effectively.
Keenan - on what the article says about Brendan and his inner circle - I'm curious if you believe the women or find it easier to shrug that off as "politics as usual."
Isn't there another candidate we can all get behind with a background that excites voters?
Superb investigative work here. The BGill-PSI lobbying connection while serving as county commissioner is basically a textbook conflict of interest, but in NJ its just Tuesday. What got me was the 2020 DOJ subpoena that went nowhere, dunno if it stalled out or just got deprioritized. The pattern with Alonso repeating similar behavior in Wisconsin makes it look less like isolated incidents and more like a operational playbook.
Did Brendan Gill ever pay back the $250,000 he took illegally from the taxpayer funded state health benefits plan while not a full time government official? Others have faced criminal charges and indictments for this. Brendan has continued in his position without any consequences.
The new Governor’s AG should open an investigation into Gill immediately. I always knew about his past and this brings it home in a way that makes clear that he is corrupt and has probably broken the law.
I read this carefully. I don’t dismiss allegations lightly, but the portrait painted here doesn’t match the Brendan Gill I’ve seen in practice over many years. In real-world governing, campaign work, and community organizing, he has consistently been effective, collaborative, and focused on delivering results, especially for people without power or a megaphone. You can disagree with his politics or his alliances, but his record shows someone who builds coalitions, gets things done, and has earned the trust of a wide range of people who’ve actually worked with him. That performance matters.
It can be true that he builds coalitions and gets things done (which the story says) and also that these allegations are true. Also, a lot of what we wrote is on the record, not allegations.
Unproven allegations remain allegations, not facts. Would it be a fact to say that you support private charter schools, which would take funds from public schools?
We have had this conversation many times, Tom, and you are well aware of my views. I don't think anybody is opposed to innovation in education; I’m opposed to pulling that innovation out of the public school system. Charter schools serve as a beachhead, diverting funding, students, and political support from public schools, and then use the resulting damage as justification for further privatization. Trying new approaches inside public schools would be a powerful thing because successes could lift the entire system, not just a select few. Once experimentation happens outside the public school oversight, it stops being reform and starts being extraction. If an idea actually works, it should strengthen public education as a whole, rather than competing with it. Real reform means investing in public schools and giving them the freedom to innovate from within.
Nothing I wrote was about taking choice away from families, in fact, it’s the opposite. The goal should be more high-quality options for all families, which is exactly why innovation needs to live inside the public school system rather than being outsourced to pseudo-nonprofits that operate outside public accountability (much like our “nonprofit” hospital system, and that's working well). If charter-style approaches work and some clearly do, then the most powerful move is to scale those models within public schools so every neighborhood benefits, not just the families who win a lottery. That strengthens choice system-wide instead of creating parallel systems that compete for the same finite resources. On performance, the evidence is mixed at best for charter schools and highly context-dependent, but even where charters outperform, that argues for bringing those practices into public schools, not hollowing them out. Real reform expands opportunity by lifting the whole system, not fragmenting it.
I've had nothing but good interactions with Brendan as well, but I also worked closely with the woman who was harassed/threatened at the League of Municipalities. I think highly of her. I have no reason to doubt her story. She told it to me several years ago before Brendan Gill was running for this seat.
People can be different things to different people. Just because you've had good experiences (as I have) doesn't mean that others have had the same experiences.
Not that I was supporting him, but he certainly lost me at “Gill is the Andrew Cuomo of this race”, though what’s described seems more Kavanaugh-esque. Such patterned behavior makes him completely unqualified.More shameful establishment politics.. 🤬
I’m not concerned with incidents over 20 years ago when Gill was in his 20s. I wouldn’t like to see my past examined in such detail. But the incidents in 2017 and later are more troubling, and in any event Gill is the Machine candidate. But it would be wise of him to sit down for an interview with NJD and tell his side of the story.
No one pays us anything, of course. If you’ve been following us, you know we’ve been critical of machine politicians since our very first post, which criticized LeRoy Jones for mixing politics with lobbying.
It’s not interesting at all. You’re saying we were paid, which is insulting and outrageous. We owe no one anything. We’ll be writing about Malinowski, Mejia and more. No one will pay us for that, either.
Covering up sources who want to be trusted but not named on your part. Trust me I am in no way any part of NJ political or media scene. Just another unaffiliated voter.
Analilia Mejia is running for congress in district 11 Morris county New Jersey. Everyone get out and vote February 5th. Everyone has to do their part and vote.
The SUPERMAJORITY PLAN TO SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM TRUMP
It will take 292 house and 67 senate votes to obtain a supermajority vote. A supermajority vote will override Trump’s veto of a bill. THIS WILL BE KEY TO ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING. The house and senate can pass a law to release the classified Epstein files implicating Trump and his billionaire pedophile network. They can pass a law to investigate the coverup of those files within the Trump administration.
EVERYONE IS GOING TO HAVE TO VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS IN THE NOVEMBER 6th MIDTERM ELECTIONS TO MAKE THIS WORK
Make sure you share this with everyone you know without social media. People without social media are unaware how corrupt and detrimental Trump’s administration really is for our country. The media outlets do not post anything negative about Trump. Some people don’t even know what the midterm elections are or how important they are.
WE HAVE TO STOP TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION FROM DESTROYING THE COUNTRY.
TRUMP, HIS ADMINISTRATION, HIS BILLIONAIRE PEDOPHILE NETWORK , AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ARE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE WORKING CLASS TO SURVIVE
PS-- I 'd also like to know if the other candidates running for the CD 11 seat-- both Rs and D's-- vow that they would sign on to this, and also sponsor legislation to overturn the disastrous Citizens United SCOTUS ruling. (Am volunteering for Analilia Mejia--- I know she has said she would do this and more to help end the scourge of $$ in politics, which is corrupting and destroying our democracy.)
Wishing you and Bob health, happiness, and all good things in 2026:)
Thank you for pulling this all together so succinctly
I did not witness the League of Municipalities several years ago, but the woman who was harassed told me what happened several years ago.
Seems to me that if we believed women we could have avoided so many political problems.
Thank you for this helpful overview. A few other issues to mention - in 2023, Gill tried to take his wife’s assembly seat and activists had to rally to make sure that did not happen. Also, there is a culture of fear, intimidation, and corruption - I don’t know a single person who authentically supports him. I object to the “brilliant” description- none of his political moves are brilliant unless threats and payoffs are brilliant. The machine is getting a reputation for shielding harassers - not a good look.
Here's a thought experiment: Let's say you accept Gill's account on each dispute. He still ran a notoriously toxic campaign in 2017, and he still has been arm-in-arm with every machine player. He still pleaded guilty to assault. And most important, Tom Malinowski is much better qualified after serving two terms in Congress, in the Obama State Department, and as Washington director for Human Rights Watch, one of the great human rights advocates on the globe. I don't see it as a close content, based just on that, even dismissing the baggage....And of course, Republicans will not dismiss the baggage come November.
I think that explains why Andy Kim endorsed Malinowski, as did Jamie Raskin.
I respect you a lot Tom, but Malinowski is not the best candidate for this district. He lives 10 minutes from the Pennsylvania border and has an open investigation in the house ethics committee for insider trading. This investigation will resume the moment he would be sworn in. Kim is backing him because the two of them decided to horse trade when Kim was running for Senate in 2024.
Thanks… but fact check: the house ethics investigation persaud Malinowski did NOT engage in insider trading, and the investigation is not still open
https://www.nj.com/opinion/2021/05/malinowskis-stock-scandal-is-not-much-of-a-scandal-moran.html
Sorry spell check: the committee concluded it was not insider trading.
I read both articles thoroughly.
Tom's issue doesn't seem as bad to me, but also it's okay to say that it's exactly how he'll be painted in April, and potentially effectively.
Keenan - on what the article says about Brendan and his inner circle - I'm curious if you believe the women or find it easier to shrug that off as "politics as usual."
Isn't there another candidate we can all get behind with a background that excites voters?
Analilia Mejia
Wow, no words! Thank you for this!
Superb investigative work here. The BGill-PSI lobbying connection while serving as county commissioner is basically a textbook conflict of interest, but in NJ its just Tuesday. What got me was the 2020 DOJ subpoena that went nowhere, dunno if it stalled out or just got deprioritized. The pattern with Alonso repeating similar behavior in Wisconsin makes it look less like isolated incidents and more like a operational playbook.
Did Brendan Gill ever pay back the $250,000 he took illegally from the taxpayer funded state health benefits plan while not a full time government official? Others have faced criminal charges and indictments for this. Brendan has continued in his position without any consequences.
The new Governor’s AG should open an investigation into Gill immediately. I always knew about his past and this brings it home in a way that makes clear that he is corrupt and has probably broken the law.
She was campaigning with these shady clowns so we shall see. I doubt it, but you never know.
I read this carefully. I don’t dismiss allegations lightly, but the portrait painted here doesn’t match the Brendan Gill I’ve seen in practice over many years. In real-world governing, campaign work, and community organizing, he has consistently been effective, collaborative, and focused on delivering results, especially for people without power or a megaphone. You can disagree with his politics or his alliances, but his record shows someone who builds coalitions, gets things done, and has earned the trust of a wide range of people who’ve actually worked with him. That performance matters.
It can be true that he builds coalitions and gets things done (which the story says) and also that these allegations are true. Also, a lot of what we wrote is on the record, not allegations.
Unproven allegations remain allegations, not facts. Would it be a fact to say that you support private charter schools, which would take funds from public schools?
Charters are public schools. The money moves w the child. And charters get less in operating costs, and get nothing for capital costs.
We have had this conversation many times, Tom, and you are well aware of my views. I don't think anybody is opposed to innovation in education; I’m opposed to pulling that innovation out of the public school system. Charter schools serve as a beachhead, diverting funding, students, and political support from public schools, and then use the resulting damage as justification for further privatization. Trying new approaches inside public schools would be a powerful thing because successes could lift the entire system, not just a select few. Once experimentation happens outside the public school oversight, it stops being reform and starts being extraction. If an idea actually works, it should strengthen public education as a whole, rather than competing with it. Real reform means investing in public schools and giving them the freedom to innovate from within.
Gif bless, bro. But I need a much better reason to tell newark families they can’t send their kids to the s school they prefer
Also, I see no evidence charters diminish performance in district schools. Just the opposite.
Nothing I wrote was about taking choice away from families, in fact, it’s the opposite. The goal should be more high-quality options for all families, which is exactly why innovation needs to live inside the public school system rather than being outsourced to pseudo-nonprofits that operate outside public accountability (much like our “nonprofit” hospital system, and that's working well). If charter-style approaches work and some clearly do, then the most powerful move is to scale those models within public schools so every neighborhood benefits, not just the families who win a lottery. That strengthens choice system-wide instead of creating parallel systems that compete for the same finite resources. On performance, the evidence is mixed at best for charter schools and highly context-dependent, but even where charters outperform, that argues for bringing those practices into public schools, not hollowing them out. Real reform expands opportunity by lifting the whole system, not fragmenting it.
I've had nothing but good interactions with Brendan as well, but I also worked closely with the woman who was harassed/threatened at the League of Municipalities. I think highly of her. I have no reason to doubt her story. She told it to me several years ago before Brendan Gill was running for this seat.
People can be different things to different people. Just because you've had good experiences (as I have) doesn't mean that others have had the same experiences.
Shows exactly how both can be true. Thanks for your informed comment.
I lose respect to those who engage in misogyny and sexism like Gill did.
He’s a Cuomo wannabe.
Not that I was supporting him, but he certainly lost me at “Gill is the Andrew Cuomo of this race”, though what’s described seems more Kavanaugh-esque. Such patterned behavior makes him completely unqualified.More shameful establishment politics.. 🤬
I’m not concerned with incidents over 20 years ago when Gill was in his 20s. I wouldn’t like to see my past examined in such detail. But the incidents in 2017 and later are more troubling, and in any event Gill is the Machine candidate. But it would be wise of him to sit down for an interview with NJD and tell his side of the story.
So interesting, illuminating and helpful! Wish I lived in CD-11, just so I could vote against this temper tantruming bully.
this is so clearly a sponsored hit... who is paying you?
No one pays us anything, of course. If you’ve been following us, you know we’ve been critical of machine politicians since our very first post, which criticized LeRoy Jones for mixing politics with lobbying.
interesting then that you deleted my comment where i notated that this is a Julie Roginsky special
It’s not interesting at all. You’re saying we were paid, which is insulting and outrageous. We owe no one anything. We’ll be writing about Malinowski, Mejia and more. No one will pay us for that, either.
Covering up sources who want to be trusted but not named on your part. Trust me I am in no way any part of NJ political or media scene. Just another unaffiliated voter.
💯 Rachel. Maybe not paid but we all know those fingerprints when we see them by now.
Innuendo on your part. Yes, like Andy Kim and Katie Brennan, we want to dismantle the bosses’ machines. Why don’t you reveal your actual name?
A sponsored hit? Wow, we live in strange times. Charging corrupt motives with zero evidence. Sad.
Right? All of this information has been available. This article just puts it together in one place.
Analilia Mejia is running for congress in district 11 Morris county New Jersey. Everyone get out and vote February 5th. Everyone has to do their part and vote.
The SUPERMAJORITY PLAN TO SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM TRUMP
It will take 292 house and 67 senate votes to obtain a supermajority vote. A supermajority vote will override Trump’s veto of a bill. THIS WILL BE KEY TO ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING. The house and senate can pass a law to release the classified Epstein files implicating Trump and his billionaire pedophile network. They can pass a law to investigate the coverup of those files within the Trump administration.
EVERYONE IS GOING TO HAVE TO VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS IN THE NOVEMBER 6th MIDTERM ELECTIONS TO MAKE THIS WORK
Make sure you share this with everyone you know without social media. People without social media are unaware how corrupt and detrimental Trump’s administration really is for our country. The media outlets do not post anything negative about Trump. Some people don’t even know what the midterm elections are or how important they are.
WE HAVE TO STOP TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION FROM DESTROYING THE COUNTRY.
TRUMP, HIS ADMINISTRATION, HIS BILLIONAIRE PEDOPHILE NETWORK , AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ARE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE WORKING CLASS TO SURVIVE
Wow. Hell of an expose.
PS-- I 'd also like to know if the other candidates running for the CD 11 seat-- both Rs and D's-- vow that they would sign on to this, and also sponsor legislation to overturn the disastrous Citizens United SCOTUS ruling. (Am volunteering for Analilia Mejia--- I know she has said she would do this and more to help end the scourge of $$ in politics, which is corrupting and destroying our democracy.)
Wishing you and Bob health, happiness, and all good things in 2026:)