Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American Republican Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He was the Republican nominee for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from New Jersey in 1996 and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. In March 2010, he was appointed by Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

to head the New Jersey Privatization Task Force.

Early life and career

Zimmer was born on August 16, 1944 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Hillside, New Jersey. His father, a physician, died of a heart attack when he was 3 years old. After his father's death, his mother moved from Hillside to

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...

, where she supported the family by working as a clerk at the

Sunshine Biscuits Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-Its, was purchased by Keebler Compa ...

warehouse. They lived in a Bloomfield garden apartment, which Zimmer has referred to as "the New Jersey equivalent of a log cabin."Wald, David. "Campaign images cloak candidates' real identity", ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', October 21, 1996.Pulley, Brett
"Zimmer Has Set Aside Calm for His Political Passions"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', June 5, 1996. Accessed April 13, 2008. When Zimmer was 12 years old, his mother married Howard Rubin, a

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

veteran with three children of his own. The newly combined family moved to

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 7,527,

, and Rubin worked at the post office there. Zimmer attended Glen Ridge High School, where he was selected as the class speaker for his graduation ceremony. His mother, suffering from lymphoma, required paramedics to take her from

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

to the school auditorium on a stretcher to hear the address. She died several days later. Zimmer attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

on a full academic scholarship and majored in political science, graduating in 1966. In the summer of 1965, he worked in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

office of Republican U.S. Senator Clifford P. Case, after which time he became active in Republican politics. He attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

, where he was an editor of the '' Yale Law Journal''.

Career

After receiving his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1969 he worked as an attorney in New York and

for several years, first for

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisiti ...

and then for Johnson & Johnson. In 1973, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group and think tank with the mission to make political institutions more open and accountable. From 1974 to 1977, he served as chairman of New Jersey Common Cause. As chairman he successfully lobbied for New Jersey's Sunshine Law, which made government meetings open to the public. He also championed campaign finance reform, working closely with Thomas H. Kean, then a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

. Zimmer then served as treasurer for Kean's reelection campaign.

New Jersey Legislature

After moving to Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, he was elected to the General Assembly in 1981, serving until 1987. He was the prime Assembly sponsor of New Jersey's first farmland preservation law, resulting in the permanent preservation of 1,222 farms in the state. Zimmer also sponsored the legislation creating the state's

radon Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...

detection and remediation program, which became a national model. He was chairman of the Assembly State Government Committee from 1986 to 1987. In 1987, following the death of State Senator Walter E. Foran, Zimmer won a special election to replace him in the New Jersey Senate. He was later elected to a full term. In the Senate he served on the Revenue, Finance and Appropriations Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1990, Zimmer ran for the

for the 12th District, then encompassing parts of Hunterdon,

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

counties. The seat was open after six-term incumbent Jim Courter decided to not seek reelection after unsuccessfully running for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

the previous year. In the Republican primary, Zimmer defeated Assemblyman

Rodney Frelinghuysen Rodney Procter Frelinghuysen (born April 29, 1946) is an American former politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. The district includes most of Morris County, an affluent suburban county west of New ...

, the early favorite, and Phil McConkey, former wide receiver for the New York Giants. In the general election he defeated Marguerite Chandler, a businesswoman from Somerset County, by a margin of 66 to 34 percent. Zimmer served three terms in the House, winning reelection in 1992 and 1994. As a Congressman, Zimmer is best known for writing

Megan's Law Megan's Law is the name for a federal law (and informal name for subsequent state laws) in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were creat ...

(U.S. Public Law 104–145), which requires notification when a convicted sex offender moves into a residential area. It was named after Megan Kanka, a New Jersey resident who was raped and murdered by convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas. He also introduced "no-frills" prison legislation, requiring the elimination of luxurious prison conditions. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, he sought the elimination of wasteful spending and undue taxation. He was ranked the most fiscally conservative member of the United States Congress three times by the

National Taxpayers Union The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in th ...

and was designated a Taxpayer Hero by Citizens Against Government Waste every year he was in office. Zimmer was also a member of the

Committee on Science, Space and Technology The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdic ...

and the Committee on Government Operations. As a member of the Environment Subcommittee, he introduced environmental risk-assessment legislation later incorporated in the 1996 amendments to the

Safe Drinking Water Act The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking wa ...

1996 U.S. Senate campaign

In 1995, Zimmer lined up support to run in the following year's United States Senate elections, becoming the front-runner among Republicans seeking to face Democratic incumbent Bill Bradley. On August 16, 1995, Bradley announced that he would not seek reelection. Zimmer formally announced his candidacy on February 13, 1996, having already secured the endorsement of Governor Christine Todd Whitman and other leading Republicans. In the Republican primary he won with 68 percent of the vote, defeating Passaic County Freeholder Richard DuHaime (20 percent) and State Senator Dick LaRossa (12 percent).Pulley, Brett
"U.S. Senate Race in New Jersey Narrows to Zimmer and Torricelli"
''The New York Times'', June 5, 1996. Accessed March 10, 2008.

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

. Accessed September 6, 2008. After a bitter and expensive campaign that focused partly on Zimmer's authorship of the federal version of Megan's Law, Zimmer lost to Democratic Congressman

Robert Torricelli Robert Guy Torricelli (born August 27, 1951), is an American attorney and former politician. A Democrat, Torricelli served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th district from 1983 to 1997 and as a United States s ...

by a vote of 1,519,328 (53 percent) to 1,227,817 (43 percent).

Career after Congress

Zimmer gave up his House seat to run for the Senate, completing his third term in office on January 3, 1997. After leaving Congress, he worked at the

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

office of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-based law firm Dechert Price & Rhoads. In 2001 he joined the

office of

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

, where he is of counsel. From 1997 to 2000 Zimmer also taught as a lecturer in Public and International Affairs at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Woodrow Wilson School The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

. In 2000, Zimmer again ran for the 12th District House seat. In the Republican primary he defeated Michael J. Pappas, who had held the seat from 1997 to 1999, by a margin of 62 to 38 percent. He faced the incumbent, Democrat

Rush D. Holt, Jr. Rush Dew Holt Jr. (born October 15, 1948) is an American scientist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party and son of former West Virginia U.S. Senator Rush D. Holt Sr ...

, in the general election. The results were too close to call on election night, and after a recount Zimmer ultimately lost by only 651 votes (146,162 to 145,511 votes, or 48.7 to 48.5 percent). On March 11, 2010, Zimmer was appointed by Governor

to be the chairman of the New Jersey Privatization Task Force, charged with developing plans to privatize certain state government operations as a cost-cutting measure. On September 25, 2020, he endorsed Joe Biden for President. In February 2021, Zimmer announced he was running for the New Jersey Senate. However, he dropped out later that month. Zimmer and his wife Marfy Goodspeed are longtime residents of Delaware Township in

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Carl Zimmer Carl Zimmer (born 1966) is a popular science writer, blogger, columnist, and journalist who specializes in the topics of evolution, parasites, and heredity. The author of many books, he contributes science essays to publications such as ''The Ne ...

, a science writer, and

Benjamin Zimmer Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The ...

, a linguist and lexicographer.

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

Zimmer entered the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey on April 11, 2008, after being drafted by New Jersey Republican leaders. Party leaders had originally supported businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook for the Senate nomination until she withdrew in March 2008, following a mini-stroke. Many Estabrook supporters then supported businessman Andy Unanue for the Senate nomination. Unanue received criticism in the race because of his residency in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and his spending his entire three-week campaign in

Vail, Colorado Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...

. Several days after filing his petitions for the Senate race, Unanue dropped out of the race and his committee on vacancies designated Zimmer to enter the race under the Unanue petitions. On June 3, 2008, Zimmer won the Republican U.S. Senate nomination over State Senator

Joseph Pennacchio Joseph Pennacchio (born May 27, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey Senate since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th Legislative District. Pennacchio has served in the Senate as the De ...

and

Ramapo College Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a public liberal arts college in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college ...

economics professor Murray Sabrin. In the general election on November 4, 2008 he faced the Democratic primary winner, incumbent U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. In polls conducted by

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

and Strategic Vision in mid-September 2008, Zimmer trailed Lautenberg by 7 points. He ultimately lost to Lautenberg by a margin of 56 percent to 43 percent. Despite the loss, Zimmer received nearly 1.4 million votes, setting a record for most votes cast in New Jersey history for a Republican candidate for statewide office. Edge, Wallybr>"On the Senate Race"
PolitickerNJ, November 5, 2008. Accessed November 6, 2008.

References

External links

* *
Biographical information for Dick Zimmer
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

Biography on Senate campaign website
(archived) , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmer, Dick 1944 births Cravath, Swaine & Moore people Glen Ridge High School alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey Living people Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers Republican Party New Jersey state senators New York (state) lawyers People associated with Gibson Dunn People from Bloomfield, New Jersey People from Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey Politicians from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Yale Law School alumni 21st-century American Jews