He grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York in a working class family. He received his high school equivalency diploma in the Navy, ultimately retiring at the rank of lieutenant commander. He went to Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), and then attended Columbia University and Rutgers Law School, Camden. During law school he worked as a night watchman at a high school where he could study and earn money to support his growing family of three children. His work ethic continued throughout his life.
After four years in the New Jersey Assembly, he was a congressman for 15 years and ultimately governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. While in Congress, he became known as the nation’s environmental champion at a time when climate change was only beginning to become part of the conversation. New Jersey had areas where there was a high concentration of industry with its attendant air pollution problems. New Jersey had more landfills than any other state, which were causing severe environmental problems. He was the author of the Superfund legislation that ultimately cleaned up most of New Jersey’s and the nation’s polluted sites. He was the sponsor of the Asbestos Hazardous Emergency Response Act of 1986, which directed the abatement of asbestos hazards in the nation’s schools. He authored the deregulation law which saved the nation’s freight railroads. He battled with the Reagan administration’s antipathy to environmental laws and the administrative state. EPA Commissioner Ann Gorsuch Burford slashed funds for the Superfund that were to enforce and implement environmental initiatives. When several House subcommittees, including one chaired by Jim Florio, began investigating the agency, she refused to turn over records and was cited for contempt of Congress. In the midst of the turmoil, she resigned. He did not bend when serious public interest was at stake.
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