I last saw Bill Pascrell at the swearing in of Craig Guy as Hudson County executive earlier this year.

He hugged me and greeted me as an old friend, saying “I’ve missed you,” as I had him.

The passing of Pascrell struck me hard because he had been an integral part of my career as a journalist.

Although I had seen him from time to time in the late 1970s and early 1980s during those days when I was deeply involved in the Paterson literary scene, I did not get to know him until I made the transition from underground press to mainstream media in 1987, at a time when he served as an Assemblyman.

A newbie to the Paterson and Passaic Valley media beat, I was always scrounging to meet my quota of stories, and frequently stopped off at his office on Chamberlain Avenue where I knew he could supply me with fresh copy. He was a prolific legislator even then.

We also shared mutual friends such as the Paterson poet, Allen Ginsberg, who had been hounded out of Paterson by then Mayor Frank X. Graves, something that had irritated Pascrell.

Ginsberg during one appearance at the Great Falls Festival had admitted having just consumed cannabis, prompting Graves to issue a warrant for his arrest if Ginsberg ever reappeared in the Silk City again.

Pascrell, who was a progressive before the term became popular, openly criticized many of Graves’ policies, but was most angered by the harsh treatment Ginsberg got from Graves during his homecoming.

Later, when Pascrell became mayor of Paterson, he rectified the matter, not merely cancelling the warrant Graves had issued, but also openly welcoming Ginsberg back to the city.

Pascrell became a champion of arts during nearly all phases of his political career, though most obvious in his role as mayor.

As a reporter for the Wayne Today newspaper chain, I frequently covered Pascrell since my beat included Paterson, what was then called West Paterson, Totowa and Little Falls. I think he liked me as a person as well as a reporter.

When I eventually moved on to the Hudson Reporter, I continued to cover him more remotely as a congressman because his district sometimes overlapped Secaucus, where I covered and for a time, a portion of Jersey City.

Whenever he showed up in my beat, I was there to greet him. He even marched in one of the parades in Secaucus.

For a brief time in the late 1990s, I worked the Bloomfield and Glen Ridge beats for the Worrall Newspaper chain, which ironically his district covered.

During my first few weeks as a reporter in Bloomfield, I had to cover the grand opening of a Home Depot which Pascrell was scheduled to attend. None of the local politicians knew much about me, which is why they looked shocked when Pascrell arrived, and instead of greeting the mayor and members of the city council, he greeted me with a hug, and again said, “I’ve missed you.” Needless to say, this elevated my status a reporter in Bloomfield.

Later, I returned to the Hudson Reporter and the Secaucus beat and began a political column that sometimes covered Pascrell’s political career, most notably, his primary battle with Rep. Steve Rothman after redistricting forced them into a head-to-head conflict over who would serve as that district’s congressman.

I could have warned Rothman against tackling Pascrell, whose base in places like Paterson and Passaic almost guaranteed his reelection. Pascrell was that loved in his community, partly because he managed embrace changes that were underway, such as the emerging Arab community (more or less replacing the Italian community of South Paterson).

Over the years, I continued to cover Pascrell for the Hudson Reporter, and later, when I became a reporter for Tapinto.net, I covered some of his transportation initiatives. He was a champion for improving the infrastructure in New Jersey.

I often wrote about the legislation he brought about for places like St. Joseph’s Hospital and other organizations in his district, although deep down, I still admired his love the arts.

Seeing him earlier this year for Guy’s swearing in brought it all back, all those moments when he greeted me as a new reporter, and then later, as a seasoned one. His respect for me as a journalist and an artist never wavered.

I will miss him.