U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today issued the following statement mourning the passing of former New Jersey Governor and U.S. Representative Jim Florio.

“Jim Florio did his job honestly. He loved New Jersey. He loved New Jerseyans. Before Jim became governor and when he was governor he was never two people but the same person. I first met Jim in 1981 and worked on his campaign. He worked hard and bounced back beautifully from a devastating defeat. Jim did the right thing as governor and when he lost because of it he bounced back again. After he lost a tough campaign in 2000, he stood up one more time. Jim’s life was about perseverance, always coming back, always reemerging on behalf of his neighbors. Jim Florio was not only a great governor, more importantly he was a good person. We were close friends and our families have been close for decades. Lucinda, his wife and partner all these years, is in all our thoughts right now.”

Original source can be found here.