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History-- 1990s: James Florio &
* Native Americans * Exploration and Settlement * British colony * Royal governance * Path to Revolution * Revolutionary War * Industrialization * Civil War * Post-War Economy & Reform * Woodrow Wilson as Governor * World War I & 1920s * Great Depression * World War II * Post-War Development * 1960s & Richard Hughes * 1970s & Income tax * 1990s-Whitman & Florio * 9/11 & McGreevey Administration * Codey & Corzine * Chris Christie * Phil Murphy --Election of James Florio
After his narrow defeat by Thomas Kean in 1981, Congressman James Florio ran again in 1989, winning easily over Republican Congressman James Courter by a 62-38% margin. Inaugurated on January 16, 1990, Florio quickly fell in popularity when he pushed through a package of tax increases during his first year in office, including extending the sales tax to previously exempt items like toilet paper. Florio also succeeded in enacting a ban on assault weapons, provoking opposition from the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun interests. Florio also became the frequent target of protests, including marches and picketing, by an anti-tax group, Hands Across New Jersey, as well as criticism by radio personalities on the statewide station 101.5 FM. In a more popular move, Florio also took action to strengthen water quality enforcement following highly-publicized incidents where medical waste and other disposables washed up on the beaches. -- Election of Governor Christine Todd Whitman By the time he sought re-election in 1993, it appeared that Florio had recovered his political position after the series of attacks, and most early polls showed him with comfortable leads over Christine Todd Whitman, a former county freeholder who was a member of a wealthy family of well-known Republican activists in Somerset County. Late in the campaign, however, Whitman advanced a plan for sharp cuts in income tax rates, a strategy which may have helped shift voter sentiment that produced a narrow victory by some 26,000 votes out of over 2.4 million cast. She was sworn in as the 50th governor of New Jersey and the first woman to hold the office. -- Whitman as governor After her inauguration, Governor Whitman proceeded to carry through on her campaign pledges for sharp cuts in tax rates, reducing the state tax base which would become an increasing problem in future years. The state also began to resort to the deferral of liabilities for state employee pension and health benefits, another maneuver followed by subsequent governors which would spark longer-term concerns over the state's fiscal condition. Despite widespread assumptions that the Governor's national stature would be further enhanced by a landslide re-election victory in 1997 over the relatively little-known Democratic State Senator and Woodbridge Mayor James McGreevey, she was re-elected by a narrow margin of 25,400 votes--nearly the same margin as her win over Florio four years earlier-- in a campaign in which the Democrats targeted voter concerns over high property tax rates and insurance premiums. Governor Whitman resigned as governor in January 2001, the final year of her second term, to join the George W. Bush administration as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She was succeeded as governor by Senate President Donald DiFrancesco, who under the state constitutional provision at that time took office as acting governor while also concurrently serving as Senate president. DiFrancesco intended to stand for election in 2001, but after a series of adverse reports of his business and legal activities, withdrew from the race, endorsing Congressman Robert Franks to replace him as the nominee. But Franks lost the June primary to conservative Bret Schundler, the mayor of Jersey City, who in turn was defeated in the November election by Democrat James McGreevey, the mayor of Woodbridge. * Jim Florio, former governor of New Jersey, dies at 85, 9/25/2022, NewJerseyGlobe.com * Native Americans * Exploration and Settlement * British colony * Royal governance * Path to Revolution * Revolutionary War * Industrialization * Civil War * Post-War Economy & Reform * Woodrow Wilson as Governor * World War I & 1920s * Great Depression * World War II * Post-War Development * 1960s & Richard Hughes * 1970s & Income tax * 1990s-Whitman & Florio * 9/11 & McGreevey Administration * Codey & Corzine * Chris Christie * Phil Murphy |