Former U.S. Congressman John Adler Passes Away At 51
Former U.S. Congressman John Adler died Monday of complications from a heart infection. A Harvard College, Harvard Law School alum raised in Haddonfield, NJ, Adler was elected to Cherry Hill's council in 1987 and served from 1991 to 2008 in the state Senate before being elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives for New Jersey's 3rd District from 2009 until 2011.
Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, on the passing of former Congressman John Adler.
"The fishing community lost a great friend, in the statehouse in New Jersey and in the U.S. House of Representatives. John truly loved serving the people of New Jersey, and those who knew him would agree that his greatest assets were his integrity, his humility and his loyalty to friends. As state senator, John was instrumental in brokering the deal to remove the menhaden reduction boats from New Jersey coastal waters, and was very supportive of efforts to help protect the glass eels or elvers. As a U.S. congressman, John formed an ad hoc coastal advisory committee made up of watermen, recreational anglers and hunters to listen to concerns coming from the district, and always proved to constituents to be only a phone call away, regardless of party affiliation. He was a dear friend of mine, and for many in our community, and he will be missed."
Adler had been at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital since last month, when he had emergency surgery for an infection in the tissue around his heart. He was just 51.