Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader

Dear Colleague,

I thought you might be interested in reading the attached interview with our founding partner, Governor Jim Florio, by Julie Walsh, of SJ Magazine, entitled, "A Lasting Presence: Former Governor Jim Florio - longtime SJ guy - is still hard at work for our state." This interview appeared in the September issue of SJ Magazine and focuses on Governor Jim Florio's life after the governor's mansion, including his current contributions to healthcare, energy, the environment, and the development of our law firm.

Regards,
Paul T. Fader

TEN QUESTIONS
BY JULIE WALSH

A Lasting Presence
Former governor Jim Florio– a longtime SJ guy – is still hard at work for our state

Jim Florio was elected governor 20 years ago this fall. Now 72, the former South Jerseyan remains an active advocate in such areas as healthcare, energy and the environment – and a loyal Eagles fan. We spoke with him recently at the Woodbury offices of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, his Phillipsburg-based law firm– where he reflected on life after the governor’s mansion.

How do you feel politics has changed since you were governor?
It’s changed a lot. Money is a much bigger influence. The policy questions are getting much more complex. One of the things that’s most startling to me – and I remember this vividly from when I first got elected in 1969 – I was very much concerned about having enough information to make good decisions, because in those days you had no staff, you just had a desk. Now, of course, the problem’s the opposite. There’s just too much information, and you have to be able to distill what’s relevant from what’s not relevant. That’s a very important distinction.

You were governor at a time when New Jersey faced a financial crisis due to a national recession. What advice do you have for Gov. Corzine as he seeks re-election under similar conditions?
The magnitude is dramatically different. The numbers that poor Governor Corzine has to deal with make the numbers I had to deal with look like pocket change. But it’s the same essential problem – that he’s governing in a recession. I’ve talked to Gov. Corzine about trying to get out and demonstrate that he’s sensitive to the problems and to try to do things that visibly and tangibly show he’s making an effort to create jobs and to be able to handle the economic disarray. A wonderful example for South Jersey is the governor’s decision to take down the Camden prison. That is a very, very good thing for economic development. It’s visible, it’s tangible; that’s something that makes a lot of sense.

You lost two very close elections – to Tom Kean Sr. in 1981 and to Christie Whitman in 1993. What might you have done differently?
I’m comfortable with all the things I did, and I think that’s very important for political people. Could you pander more if you wanted to? I guess you could, but I’m not comfortable with that. I think things that I did were necessary. Again, I think Governor Corzine is trying to do the same thing. You try to talk to people as adults. All too frequently political people are inclined to tell you what you want to hear. One of the things I’ve always thought of, as a political person, is that you’re kind of a teacher with a large classroom. And what you want to do is explain things in some detail, point out from time to time that someone’s ultimate interest and long-term interest may be different than their perceived short-term interest. All too frequently, in our whole life and our whole culture, we’re thinking about the next quarter, the next election.

You are state co-chair for the National Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Why have you taken this on as a cause?
The partnership is trying to lift the level of awareness of decision-makers to the importance of dealing with chronic diseases – asthma, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, things of that sort – which account for about 75 cents of every dollar we spend on healthcare. The rationale is that we can do things specifically to prevent chronic disease. And we can do lots of things to detect, early on, chronic diseases and to manage them, so as to save money and have better outcomes on healthcare.

What other big projects are you involved in now?
I’m doing a lot of things on energy. I teach energy and environmental policy [at Rutgers’ Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]. And then I have a law practice, so I have an opportunity to represent people who have an interest in those areas. And commendably, New Jersey in the last couple of years has done a lot to put us at the cutting edge of energy policy. The first Energy Master Plan for New Jersey was put together in my administration, in 1992…I’m on a number of different nonprofit boards – I’m on something called the Regional Plan Association, which is a fairly prestigious nonprofit that entails New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, doing planning for transportation and land use. I’m on something called New Jersey Futures, so I spend a lot of time on many of these issues that are academic but have real-life applications.

You live in Metuchen, Middlesex County. Why did you move to North Jersey?
When I came out of office, I started working with a big law firm from Piscataway. More importantly, I started teaching at Rutgers, at the Bloustein School, and commuting that far is a bit much, so we moved there. And I left South Jersey to go to Princeton when I was governor, so it was a bit of a change. Still, at heart, I’m a South Jersey guy. And I get down here quite a bit. I’m pleased we have the office here. More importantly, I’ve got eight of my grandchildren down here.

You were once an amateur boxer. How have those skills come in handy in your career?
A short, undistinguished career. I fought in the Navy…You have to learn how to get up after you’ve been knocked down. You have to learn how to dodge punches. Actually, I still have a heavy bag in my garage that I still use to work out. It’s better than beating up employees!

What do you see as your legacy?
We have a place in Sea Isle. Whenever [my wife] Lucinda and I go down to the Shore areas, there’ll be people who come up and say,“Oh boy, you really did a good job cleaning up the ocean.” In the ’80s the beaches were closed – there were hypodermic needles, garbage washing up, sewage…and we consciously went in and passed something called the Clean Water Enforcement Act, went and raised a billion-and-a-half dollars to upgrade sewer treatment plants so they wouldn’t be spewing sewage into the ocean. And since that period of time when we did those things, the waters have been demonstrably cleaner.

Would you ever run for office again?
No. I enjoy my life now. I was 56 when I left office. I didn’t pay attention at all to money. Then after I left office, I realized that maybe there’s a need for a mortgage on a house, because I didn’t own a house when I left. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t have any cars. I really sort of led a semi-monkish life. Things have been good for me, the law firm’s doing well, so I’m pleased and I’m blending some of the things I do professionally with some of the things I’m intellectually interested in; so I’ve got a nice blend of things. And I suspect I would not be very effective nowadays. I’m not very good and never was good at raising money. And nowadays that’s absolutely essential, you have to get on the phone and ask people for money. And temperamentally, I’m not good at that.

You were born in Brooklyn, moved to SJ and now live in North Jersey. When the Phillies play the Mets, or the Eagles take on the Giants, who do you root for?
Let me give you a little anecdote: One of the things the governor gets is the governor’s box at Giants Stadium. When I first got elected, I went up to the game – it was the Eagles and the Giants.We’re in the box. The box seats about 30 people. Randall Cunningham is the quarterback. He goes over the goal line with the quarterback sneak. I yell “Hooray!” Absolute silence in the box. That’s when I understood there’s a big difference between North Jersey and South Jersey.