BlueWaveNJ President Marcia Marley released the following statement on the death of Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson):
“BlueWaveNJ mourns the death of Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr., who served the people of New Jersey and his native Paterson with distinction for four decades, including 14 terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bill Pascrell was courageous and consistent in standing up for what was right and he put his constituents needs and concerns first. In fact, he took serving New Jerseyans so seriously that even if someone not in his district needed help, we knew to point them to his office.
He was not afraid to engage his critics. For example, when conservatives were demanding town halls to attack anyone supporting the Affordable Care Act, many would not engage. However, Bill Pascrell confronted ACA critics directly by agreeing to a town hall and when confronted with misinformation, he literally opened up the actual rather large legislation (that he helped write) and read a passage that directly debunked what his critics were claiming.
Bill will be missed. In his absence we will redouble our efforts to win in November and hold our elected officials to his standard of service.”