James Florio

Florio was one of three children (all sons) born to Lillian Ellen (née Hazell) Florio (June 18, 1917 – May 2, 2000) and Vincenzo [later Vincent Joseph] Florio (May 12, 1914 – April 7, 1994), who wed in 1936.

Florio and his brothers were raised in Brooklyn.

His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Scottish, Irish, and German descent.

Florio's father was a shipyard painter who also used his poker winnings to help support his family.

Florio attended Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush.

He dropped out of high school following his junior year, joined the U.S. Navy, became a weatherman, and earned a high school equivalency degree.

James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994.

Florio was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 29, 1937.

He served as an enlisted member of the United States Navy from 1955 to 1958 and continued to serve in the United States Naval Reserve as a commissioned officer until 1975, ultimately achieving the rank of lieutenant commander.

Florio received a Bachelor of Arts in social studies from Trenton State College in 1962 and started graduate studies in public law and government at Columbia University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship before earning a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1967.

After graduating from law school, Florio volunteered to work for the Democratic Party and was mentored by past Camden Mayor Angelo Errichetti.

Florio was an amateur boxer.

He was the borough solicitor for the New Jersey towns of Runnemede, Woodlynne, and Somerdale from 1969 to 1974.

In both 1969 and 1971, Florio was elected to represent the 3rd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly, covering portions of Camden County, each time with Democratic running mate John J. Horn, whom Florio had served as a legislative aide while he was still in law school.

After being admitted to the bar, he became the assistant city attorney for the City of Camden, a position he would hold until 1971.

He was elected in 1973, together with Ernest F. Schuck, to represent the 5th Legislative District in the General Assembly, which covered portions of Camden County and Gloucester County.

In November 1974, Florio was elected to the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey's 1st congressional district, defeating incumbent John E. Hunt.

He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 1975 to 1990 and served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1970 to 1975.

He was a member of the Democratic Party.

In 1975, Florio resigned after being elected to the U.S House of Representatives.

He served in the House from January 3, 1975, until January 16, 1990, when he resigned to serve as governor of New Jersey.

While in Congress, Florio ran for Governor of New Jersey in 1977, 1981, and 1989.

Florio was defeated by incumbent Democrat Brendan Byrne in 1977.

In Congress, Florio authored the Superfund legislation to clean up the most polluted sites in the country in 1980.

He was the author of the Railroad Deregulation Law which saved the nation's freight railroads, including Conrail.

He was also cosponsor of the Exon-Florio Amendment, which created the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and effectively removed Congress from the approval process on foreign takeovers of U.S. industrial concerns.

Florio took office during the late 1980s recession and thus faced a budget deficit.

Also, Florio wished to increase education aid to New Jersey's low-wealth school districts.

In 1981, he won the Democratic nomination, but then lost a controversial general election to Thomas Kean.

The involvement of the Republican National Committee in the 1981 general election received significant subsequent attention, with the RNC accused of having created a Ballot Security Task Force made up of off-duty police officers to engage in voter suppression.

The 1981 gubernatorial general election was the closest in New Jersey history, and the outcome of the election was not decided with certainty until several weeks after Election Day.

In the 1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election, Florio won both the nomination and the general election.

During his campaign, Florio said: "You can write this statement down: 'Florio feels there is no need for new taxes'".

Florio defeated Republican Jim Courter with 61% of the vote, becoming the first American of Italian descent to become Governor of New Jersey.

Florio signed the tax package into law in June 1990.

It was the largest state tax increase in the history of the United States.

The money generated balanced the budget, increased property tax relief programs, and increased education spending in the Abbott districts.

Florio also eliminated 1,500 government jobs and cut perks for state officials.

Faced with a projected 1991 deficit of $3 billion, Florio asked for a $2.8 billion tax increase, most in the way of a sales tax increase and an increase in the state excise taxes on various goods.

This legislation was a factor in the Dubai Ports World controversy in 2006.