Former NJ Governor Jim Florio Dies At 85

NEW JERSEY - Former New Jersey Gov. James “Jim” Florio, a Democrat known for his controversial tax and firearm policies, has died. He was 85.

Florio’s law partner Douglas Steinhardt announced his death via Twitter early Monday morning:

“Governor Florio passed away last night comforted by family & friends,” Steinhardt wrote. “Our partnership was a constant reminder to me that ppl can disagree on fundamental tenets of gov’t & politics, but still be civil & still be friends. I will miss him.”

Florio began his career in the U.S. Navy in 1955 and stayed with the Naval Reserves until 1975, finishing his service with the rank of lieutenant commander. He went on to graduate from Trenton State College – now the College of New Jersey – and won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to attend Columbia University. He graduated from Rutgers Law School - Camden in 1967 with a law degree.

The former serviceman took jobs with the City of Camden Legal Department as solicitor for Runnemede, Wood-Lynne and Somerdale before he won a New Jersey State Assembly seat in South Jersey in 1969, serving fifteen years as a congressman over eight terms before serving as governor of the state from 1990 to 1994.

The Brooklyn-born politician served as a decades-long environmental advocate aiming to clean up toxic sites in the southern portion of New Jersey by championing the federal Superfund law. His policies also revolved around reforming public school inequalities and the tightening gun laws in the state and across the U.S., with Florio notably upholding a nationwide assault weapons ban.

During his congressional tenure, Florio served as chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness of the Energy and Commerce Committee and as chair of the Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests of the Select Committee on Aging, according to the National Governors Association.

As Chairman of the House Subcommittee, he notably penned an amendment to the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to create the Pinelands National Reserve within portions of seven South Jersey counties. The amendment helped to protect around 1.1 million acres by blocking federal actions and establishing a preservation planning process for the land.

“Our communities are cleaner today because of the environmental efforts he championed in Congress,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement Monday. “And our streets are safer today because of his dogged effort to enact and defend our state’s assault-weapons ban, which remains the law to this day. More than anything, Governor Florio showed that legacies are built by doing the right things."

Florio was elected governor on Nov. 7, 1989, beating out Republican Congressman James Courter by a 62-38 margin, according to his Rutgers biography.

However, Florio was ultimately pushed out of the state’s top job in 1993 when he approved $2.8 billion in new taxes, including a 1% sales tax increase and a top income tax increase from 3.5 to 7%. A Republican sweep of both houses and the legislature ensued in 1994.

Florio was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2014.

“Governor Florio was a fighter who never backed down,” Murphy added. “He was a leader who cared more about the future of New Jersey than his own political fortunes. And he was also a friend whose kind counsel was invaluable to me and countless others across our state.”

Florio also published a memoir in 2018 dubbed “Standing on Principle: Lessons Learned in Public Life.”