Standing on Principle: Lessons Learned in Public Life

by James J. Florio, William Bradley (Foreword)

James J. Florio is best known as governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. But his career in local, state, and national government is far more varied, and his achievements as a progressive reformer are more substantial than most realize. 

This political memoir tells the remarkable story of how Florio, a high school dropout who left to join the Navy as a teenager, went on to become an attorney, a state assemblyman, a congressman, and a governor. A passionate defender of the environment, Florio played a crucial role in the enactment of 1980s-era Superfund laws, which helped to clean up toxic waste sites in New Jersey and around the country. As governor, he fought for the groundbreaking Clean Water Enforcement Act. But his reforms quite literally came at a cost, as he raised New Jersey sales taxes and income taxes to balance the state budget. Florio reflects upon the challenges of meeting the state’s budgetary needs while keeping his tax-averse constituents happy.  

Standing on Principle reveals a politician who has never been afraid to take a progressive stand—including a firm stance against semiautomatic weapons that led gun lobbyists to bankroll his opponent. His story is sure to inspire readers from New Jersey and across the nation.

Published in cooperation with the Center on the American Governor, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

Genres: Politics, Biography

302 pages, Hardcover

Published May 7, 2018

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Florio’s memoir is an insightful analysis of a politician’s decision-making process. He explores how an elected official must move beyond the popularity of easy and quick responses to voter whims and make the necessary tough choices in a time when tax revenues are scarce and single-interest groups are becoming more vocal.

After serving 15 years in Congress (eight years of which I was on his personal staff) Florio won the New Jersey governorship. Readers will find alarming the rush of competing interests that faced him upon taking that office in 1990. Many readers will wonder why sane people would want the job.

Florio convincingly answers that the future of our American democracy literally compels us all to weigh in -- as candidates or as voters who actively participate in informed civic debate that takes a perspective of the common good beyond any one upcoming election.

[Vincent Solomeno · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Standing on Principle" is former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio's memoir of his decades in public service. The author provides his perspective on growing up in New York City, time as a weather officer with the U.S. Navy, and his service as State Assemblyman, Congressman, and Governor. It is an accurate and informative account of late twentieth century New Jersey politics and public policy.