By Anne Levin

Most people recall James J. “Jim” Florio from his years as governor of New Jersey. But the Brooklyn-born Democrat’s political legacy includes much more than his term in Trenton, which lasted from 1990 to 1994.

Prior to being elected governor, Florio was a state assemblyman and congressman. He was the architect of the federal Superfund program that would clean up thousands of toxic waste sites around the country. He is also credited with designating the New Jersey Pinelands as a national preserve.

It is these achievements, as well as elements of his personal story, that are the focus of Florio’s recently released political memoir, Standing on Principle: Lessons Learned in Public Life. Tonight (June 20) at 7 p.m., he will discuss the book and his life in politics with journalist Charles Stile at Princeton Public Library. The event is open to the public.

“Florio is relevant now,” said Stile, a Princeton resident who is senior political columnist for The Record. “He was much vilified when he left office. Now we have a new activist, liberal governor, so there are the inevitable comparisons to be drawn. He’s very much in vogue now.”

Florio was a high school dropout who left school to join the Navy as a teenager. While he had thoughts of becoming a teacher, he decided on the legal profession instead, graduating from Rutgers Law School in Camden. He went on to serve in the state Assembly and in Congress before winning the governor’s race. Florio is a recipient of the Profile in Courage Award of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Now 80, he lives in Moorestown and practices law in Cherry Hill.

Soon after becoming governor, Florio signed a ban on assault weapons that is still one of the strongest in the country. His unsuccessful run for re-election was opposed by the National Rifle Association, which lobbied vigorously to get it rescinded. Florio lost to Republican Christie Whitman. The weapons issue, “was the issue that always defined him and shaped the contours of his term,” Stile said.

Florio’s time in office is also remembered for his raising of taxes, by a record $2.8 billion. The tax hike was made in the first six months of his term, to balance the state budget. The challenges involved in that decision are among the topics touched on In his book, which is published by Rutgers University Press in cooperation with the Center on the American Governor, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.

“I like the book a lot,” said Stile, who had nearly finished it when talking to Town Topics on Monday. “It’s a fast read. It reawakens some of the memories of that time period — the Carter and Reagan years, and his emergence as a principal activist liberal. The rise of his career is actually fascinating. It’s not a soul-searching memoir. But his main point is, if you build political capital, you’ve got to use it.”