Governor Donald DiFrancesco’s 9/11 Address

On October 3, 2001, Governor Don DiFrancesco (R) addressed the New Jersey legislature in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. DiFrancesco was both Governor and Senate President at the time, elevated to the governor’s role the previous January when Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R) left the position to become Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Several years later in 2006, New Jersey voters approved an amendment to the state constitution creating the office of lieutenant governor and ending the possibility of future leaders simultaneously serving in two top positions.) DiFrancesco gave this speech at a moment when New Jersey was in crisis, mourning 750 deaths and an uncertain economic future. The Center on the American Governor highlights this speech today, as the state once again faces a crisis, this time with a much higher death toll and and an even more uncertain economic impact.

This NJN Public Television archival video footage is presented by the Eagleton Center on the American Governor in collaboration with the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJ PBA). No republication, reproduction, or other use is authorized without prior written consent from the NJ PBA. All Rights Reserved.