Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. of Newark has died.

Elected to the seat formerly held by his father in 2012, Mr. Payne was known for his commitment to public service, his gravitas, his love of Newark, and his ready smile.  A former Newark City councilman and former Essex County Commissioner, Mr. Payne affectionately went by the nickname “Choppy.”

On April 9th, his office issued the following statement:

“Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. suffered a cardiac episode based on complications from his diabetes during the weekend. He was admitted to a local hospital for treatment. Currently, he is recovering in the hospital as doctors conduct routine exams to monitor and observe his improvement.  The Congressman’s prognosis is good and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

He did not.

Having suffered a heart attack on April 6th, Mr. Payne lapsed into a coma, from which he would not emerge.

He was 65.

Never the most vociferous, demagogic or attention-seeking congressperson, the pro-labor Mr. Payne played a critical role as an infrastructure and transportation policy expert. The son of New Jersey’s first African-American congressman, his family, personal and political history vitally tell a critical part of the history of the City of Newark.

Notably, Congressman Payne, Jr. helped pass President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, which became law on Nov. 15, 2021. “The new, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is going to create opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses nationwide,” said Payne, Jr., who earlier that same year assumed the chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “We must not let discrimination in federal contracting deny them their right to participate in these infrastructure projects.  As Chairman of the Rail Subcommittee, I will continue to work to make the process of how we award federal passenger rail projects more equitable and transparent for all American businesses.”

The bill also makes critical investments in rail projects, among them the long-delayed access corridor to the region’s core, or the Gateway Tunnel, in a district where only two towns – Irvington and Hillside lack train stations.

From the White House:

“U.S. passenger rail lags behind the rest of the world in reliability, speed, and coverage. China already has 22,000 miles of high-speed rail, and is planning to double that by 2035. The legislation positions rail to play a central role in our transportation and economic future, investing $66 billion in additional rail funding to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring world-class rail service to areas outside the northeast and mid-Atlantic. This is the largest investment in passenger rail since Amtrak’s creation, 50 years ago and will create safe, efficient, and climate-friendly alternatives for moving people and freight.”

The bill, notes Payne, improves the nation’s infrastructure in several ways, such as:

• $66 billion in guaranteed funding for rail projects.

• $38 billion in funding that could be used for the Hudson River Tunnel project (above and beyond its estimated $12 billion price tag).

• $12 billion for rail upgrades, such as high-speed rail projects.

• $46 billion for flood mitigation, coastal resiliency and other measures to protect infrastructure from extreme weather events.

• $55 billion for water infrastructure and the removal of lead-contaminated pipes in drinking water systems.

Long delayed amid pushing and shoving from within the Democrats’ own ranks, the deal for Biden’s infrastructure agenda finally came together after the November 2021 general election, and after a much-criticized – but historically significant – U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and a 20-year occupation going back to a presidential agenda the late Congressman Payne, Sr. vehemently opposed.

Mr. Payne, Jr. knew the political arc his father lived through and died trying to redirect to critical domestic spending, which is why he took a certain pride in having put himself in a position to be the chairman of the rail subcommittee at the beginning of this year, and why – whenever he saw Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the lead-up to the infrastructure deal – Buttigieg stopped him before he could say anything and said, “I know, I know, the Gateway Tunnel.”

“I’m in the catbird’s seat,” the congressman told InsiderNJ.

In 2022, Mr. Payne would go on to face stiff opposition from the progressive wing of the party. He ran the campaign of a lifetime, and handily won reelection.