Bill Pascrell Jr.

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Bill Pascrell
Bill Pascrell Jr.
In office
1989 - present
Preceded by William J. Martini
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born January 25, 1937
Paterson, New Jersey
Political party Democratic
Spouse Elsie Pascrell
Religion Roman Catholic

William J. "Bill" Pascrell Jr. (b. January 25, 1937) is an American Democratic politician from the state of New Jersey, representing the state's Eighth Congressional district (map) in the House of Representatives. The district is based in Paterson and includes most of Passaic County and suburban Essex County.

Pascrell was born in Paterson, New Jersey and graduated from Fordham University with a degree in education. He spent 12 years as a high school teacher before being hired as a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Pascrell was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988. He was also elected as Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey's third largest city, in 1990.

Pascrell gave up his seat as Mayor after he was elected to the House in 1996, defeating one-term Republican Bill Martini. He has been reelected five times, usually by a large margin.

In Congress, Pascrell serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Pascrell received an "A" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues[1].

Pascrell is an Italian American and has been outspoken about the representation of Italians-Americans in the media regarding what he sees as negative stereotypes in shows such as HBO's The Sopranos. His Italian heritage was famously questioned by comedian Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, who alleged in an interview that Pascrell could not truly be of Italian descent because Italian surnames could not end in consonants. Pascrell angrily responded that "Sole" was an example of an Italian surname ending in a consonant.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record, accessed June 28, 2006
  2. ^ "Laugh, and the Voters Will Laugh With You, or at Least at You", The New York Times, February 26, 2006

[edit] External links

Preceded by
William J. Martini		 U.S. Representative, New Jersey 8th District
1989–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent


New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators: Frank Lautenberg (D), Robert Menendez (D)

Representative(s): Dist 1: Robert E. Andrews (D), Dist 2: Frank A. LoBiondo (R), Dist 3: H. James Saxton (R), Dist 4: Christopher H. Smith (R), Dist 5: Scott Garrett (R), Dist 6: Frank Pallone Jr. (D), Dist 7: Michael Ferguson (R), Dist 8: William J. Pascrell Jr. (D), Dist 9: Steven R. Rothman (D), Dist 10: Donald M. Payne (D), Dist 11: Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R), Dist 12: Rush D. Holt Jr. (D), Dist 13: Albio Sires (D)

All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands
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