TRENTON, N.J.—Former New Jersey Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that substantially raised the state’s sales and income taxes leading to his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85.
His law partner Doug Steinhardt and current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio died in statements on Monday.
Florio was a longtime public servant who held numerous posts on the local, county, state, and federal levels.
A Democrat, he made three unsuccessful runs for the governor before finally succeeding in 1989, when he defeated Republican Jim Courter and became the first Italian-American to serve as the state’s chief executive….