New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a 14-term incumbent and a fixture in his hometown of Paterson for more than four decades, died on Wednesday at the age of 87. Pascrell was slated to run for a 15th term in the fall.
Pascrell died Wednesday morning at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, according to his long-time chief of staff, Ben Rich. A cause of death has not yet been released, but Pascrell had been suffering with a respiratory illness that hospitalized him for nearly a month over the summer.
His family also posted on social media: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that Bill Pascrell Jr., our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away this morning. As our United States Representative, Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and to the people he loved. Bill lived his entire life in Paterson and had an unwavering love for the city he grew up in and served. He is now at peace after a lifetime devoted to our great nation America.”
Pascrell was a graduate of Fordham University and served in the Army for six years. He worked as a teacher in Paterson and served on the Board of Education there from 1979 to 1982 before going on to the state Legislature. He was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988, and then was elected mayor of Paterson in 1990. He went on to serve in Congress in 1996.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy remembered Pascrell for “an unwavering instinct for drawing strength from our state’s diversity” and said he was a “champion for our most vulnerable neighbors. He was a unifier in every sense of the word— and always sought to bring the people of New Jersey together around our shared principles. But for many New Jerseyans, Bill will be remembered most fondly for leading the fight for our families in Congress over the past 27 years. At every stage of his Congressional career, he stood up for our neighbors by defending access to reproductive health care, keeping our communities safe from gun violence, supporting our law enforcement officers and first responders, protecting our natural wonders — like Paterson’s Great Falls — and so much more.”
Pascrell is the second New Jersey representative to die in office this year; Rep. Donald Payne Jr. died in April, and was succeeded on the ballot in a special primary held last month by Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver. It’s unclear yet whether there will be a special election to fill Pascrell’s unexpired term, which ends in January.
Rep. Rob Menendez wrote on social media: “Bill Pascrell was more than a colleague, he was a friend, mentor and someone who I greatly admired and loved. Bill was Paterson to his core – tough but compassionate, a relentless fighter who always championed his constituents and never encountered a fight he wasn’t ready to take on. He loved his job and he did it with purpose every single day. His voice, his work, and his dedication will never be forgotten. But today is a sad day. I’m going to miss Bill so very much. It’s hard to think about going back to DC and not seeing him there on the House floor in the back corner holding court or after votes getting together to connect over a meal. He was a true friend and I will forever cherish our time together and I will always carry his memory with me. May he rest in peace.”
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