Former New Jersey Senate President John Russo Dies at 84

John Russo, a longtime leader in state politics who authored more than 200 laws and rose to become state Senate president, died Saturday after fighting cancer. He was 84.

Russo, a Democrat from Ocean County, died surrounded by his family, his daughter, Caryl Russo Signer, told Observer. He died from complications from throat cancer.

“It was a true honor to have been raised by such an amazing human being,” she said Monday.

Russo spent 18 years in the New Jersey Senate from 1974 to 1992 and led the upper house as Senate president from 1986 to 1990, after having served as majority leader for several years. He was known for writing the state’s death penalty law, which was later repealed. In 1985, he finished second out of six candidates in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, then went on to co-chair former Gov. Jim Florio’s winning campaign in 1989.

Read more: http://observer.com/2017/08/former-nj-senate-president-john-russo-dies-at-84/
(New Jersey Observer)