New Jersey Democratic State Chairman and Essex County Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones released the following statement on the death of Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson):
“We have all suffered a profound loss with the passing of Congressman Bill Pascrell. Bill was a longtime friend and someone many of us looked up to over the years. He dedicated his entire life to public service as a teacher, an Assemblyman, and then as a member of Congress. His countless accomplishments over his brilliant career will be felt for generations.
Bill never ran from a fight. He was an outspoken critic against some of Chris Christie’s most oppressive policies and he was on the frontlines in the fight against Donald Trump and the threat he represents to our democracy, most notably successfully securing Trump’s tax returns after years of dogged pursuit.
One of my favorite memories of Bill Pascrell is from the aftermath of the bruising Primary fight he won in 2012. Bill was told from the beginning and straight through the morning of Primary Election Day that he could not win because the makeup of the district was supposedly not in his favor. Anyone who knew Bill Pascrell knows that wouldn’t discourage him – it was simply another challenge to be accepted and overcome and by mid-afternoon that Tuesday in June, there were lines outside of multiple voting locations of people waiting to cast their vote for Bill.
But the most important part of the story is that after what turned out to be a not particularly close but definitely contentious North Jersey fight, Bill immediately went about the work of bringing Democrats back together again. These Democrats in Passaic, Bergen, and Hudson Counties all quickly came to realize what many of us had known for years: Bill Pascrell was truly New Jersey’s Progressive Fighter.
Bill Pascrell was a good man, and he will be missed.”