Former New Jersey Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that considerably raised the state's gross sales and revenue taxes resulting in his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85.
His regulation companion Doug Steinhardt and present New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio's loss of life in statements Monday.
"Governor Florio was a fighter who by no means backed down. He was a pacesetter who cared extra about the way forward for New Jersey than his personal political fortunes," Murphy, a fellow Democrat, mentioned in an announcement.
Florio was a longtime public servant who held quite a few posts on the native, county, state and federal ranges.
A Democrat, he made three unsuccessful runs for the governor earlier than lastly succeeding in 1989, when he defeated Republican Jim Courter and have become the primary Italian-American to function the state's chief govt.
Florio drew sharp criticism in 1990 when he pushed a $2.8 billion tax improve by way of the state Legislature that prolonged a gross sales tax to, amongst different issues, bathroom paper. It spawned huge voter resentment and spurred the formation of Fingers Throughout New Jersey, an anti-tax grass roots group that used rolls of bathroom paper as its image.
Florio was ousted after one time period by Republican Christie Whitman, who tapped into voter anger over the tax hike and received the race by about 26,000 votes.
Earlier than turning into governor, Florio served 4 years within the state Meeting and 15 years within the Home of Representatives. In 2000, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, dropping to funding banker Jon Corzine in one of the vital costly Senate primaries in historical past.
Corzine went on to win the Senate seat that yr and held it till he received the governor's workplace in 2005.
Lengthy after he left workplace, Florio continued to be an lively voice and weighed in on a number of points. He was a daily within the halls of the statehouse throughout legislative periods.
In February 2015, Florio and three different former New Jersey governors urged the state senate to delay a vote on Gov. Chris Christie's nominee for a southern New Jersey panel that oversees a million-acre pine reserve. The ex-governors claimed the nomination would "undermine the independence" of the fee, however the senate ultimately authorized the nominee for the job.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Florio attended Trenton State School (now generally known as The School of New Jersey) and graduated from the Rutgers College of Legislation in 1967. He additionally served as an officer within the Navy from 1955 to 1958 and continued as a reservist till 1975, ultimately reaching the rank of lieutenant commander.