When I hired Matt Arco back in about 2011, I knew I was getting a good reporter. He’d responded to an ad for a job at PolitickerNJ and we’d talked several times by phone about the job. We were the first truly online political operation in the state and he was excited to get into real time reporting. Even then, coming from a job in another state, he knew New Jersey was the place to cut your teeth in political journalism.

He was young – mid 20s – but damn he was hungry. There was a delay in hiring him as we cleared some logjam or other and he reached out and firmly told me that he REALLY wanted the job. I told him be patient and I would get it through but he let me know he was ready to go. Immediately. I called my boss and had a tense conversation, but won out in the end. Matt was at work two weeks later.

He worked hard and grew with the role and over time became an invaluable member of the small team that hung out in the tiny statehouse office we affectionately dubbed the clown car because of our penchant for jamming four reporters into a converted storage closet. Matt took quickly to our mission and we’d revel in beating our larger competitors to a story even if it was only by a few minutes. The camaraderie and pride in being the underdog that Matt, Max Pizarro, Tim Carroll and I developed in that tiny office were extremely rare and Matt’s competitive drive was a huge part of it.

Eventually it became clear that Matt was ready to move on and I was happy for him when he landed the coveted gig at the Star Ledger. There he quickly established himself as the go to “Chris Christie guy” and while he was often a thorn in the ex-governor’s side, I’m told Christie maintained a soft spot for him.

Over the years we remained friends and would touch base when we could. Our conversations were always full of laughs at the circus we were both enmeshed in. When my parents passed, Matt was a sympathetic ear and I returned the favor as best I could when his parents were ill. He was a private person, but we’d both had some experience with the awful disease of dementia and it helped us both to talk about the toll it took watching our fathers overtaken.

Matt and I spoke less than two weeks ago and we had a long talk about work, life and the importance of creating a balance in an environment that would consume you if you let it. At the time, he was excited about his role at Advance and also about spending time in Vermont, where he and his husband had a place. That conversation is heartbreaking in retrospect and my heart goes out to Mike.

In losing Matt, New Jersey lost an outstanding reporter, but far more importantly, many of us lost an exceptional friend. Rest in Peace Matt. You will be missed.