William James Pascrell Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 9th congressional district, having served in this position since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson, New Jersey, Pascrell has served in the House since January 1997, when he represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district; due to the federally mandated redistricting following the 2010 United States census, which resulted in New Jersey losing a seat in the House, Pascrell's home city was placed in the 9th district. Before his election to the House of Representatives, Pascrell served in the New Jersey General Assembly for four terms beginning in 1988, and was elected to two terms as mayor of Paterson.