William Everett "Bill" Schluter is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature

New Jersey Legislature

The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

.

Schluter was born on November 5, 1927 in Bronxville, New York

Bronxville, New York

Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County. At the 2010 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323...

 to Frederic E. and Charlotte M. Schluter. He grew up in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey

Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey

Area residents often refer to all of Lawrence Township as Lawrenceville. Lawrenceville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lawrence Township...

 and attended Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...

 and Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

. In 1950 he married Nancy Albright Hurd. They settled in Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,585.Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of...

.

Schluter was elected to the Pennington City Council in 1963 and served for six years. He was a delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention

1964 Republican National Convention

The 1964 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States took place in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had only been one national Republican convention on the West Coast...

. In 1967 he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly

New Jersey General Assembly

The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

 and was reelected in 1969.

In 1971, in a newly reapportioned legislative district combining parts of Hunterdon

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 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....

, Mercer

Mercer County, New Jersey

As of the census of 2000, there were 350,761 people, 125,807 households, and 86,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,552 people per square mile . There were 133,280 housing units at an average density of 590 per square mile...

, Middlesex

Mercer County, New Jersey

As of the census of 2000, there were 350,761 people, 125,807 households, and 86,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,552 people per square mile . There were 133,280 housing units at an average density of 590 per square mile...

 and Morris

Morris County, New Jersey

Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....

 Counties, Schluter was elected to the New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Senate

The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

. But Schluter lost the seat in 1973 to Anne Clark Martindell

Anne Clark Martindell

Anne Clark Martindell was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, as well as a diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to New Zealand from 1979 to 1981.-Early life and family:...

, as Democrats took control of the State Legislature in the wake of the Watergate scandal

Watergate scandal

The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...

.

In 1976 Schluter ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 against the Democratic incumbent, Helen Stevenson Meyner

Helen Stevenson Meyner

Helen Day Stevenson Meyner, also known as Helen S. Meyner was a Democratic U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1975 to 1979.-Biography:...

, who, like Martindell, had won in a Republican-leaning district in the aftermath of Watergate. In the hotly contested race, Meyner defeated Schluter by a narrow margin. In 1978 Schluter ran for the House seat again but lost in the Republican primary to Jim Courter

Jim Courter

James Andrew "Jim" Courter is an American Republican Party politician, lawyer and businessman. He is a resident of Hackettstown, New Jersey.-Biography:He was born October 14, 1941 in Montclair, New Jersey...

, who went on to defeat Meyner in the general election.

Schluter returned to the New Jersey Legislature

New Jersey Legislature

The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 in 1987, when Dick Zimmer

Dick Zimmer (New Jersey politician)

Richard Alan "Dick" Zimmer is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. He was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey in 1996 and 2008...

 moved from the Assembly to the Senate following the death of Senator Walter E. Foran

Walter E. Foran

Walter Edge "Moose" Foran was an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Arthur F. Foran, who served in the New Jersey Senate.-Biography:Foran was born in Flemington, New Jersey, the...

. Schluter won Zimmer's Assembly seat, and then continued on to the State Senate after Zimmer succeeded Courter in the House of Representatives in 1991. Schluter's Assembly seat was filled by Leonard Lance

Leonard Lance

Leonard Lance is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly....

.

Schluter served in the State Senate until 2001, when he would have had to run against a fellow incumbent, Democratic Senator Shirley Turner

Shirley Turner

Shirley K. Turner is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1998, where she represents the 15th Legislative District....

, due to redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

. Instead, he ran as an independent in the race for Governor of New Jersey

Governor of New Jersey

The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...

. Despite an endorsement from Gov. Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura

James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...

 of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, Schluter lagged far behind Democrat Jim McGreevey

Jim McGreevey

James Edward "Jim" McGreevey is an American Democratic politician. He served as the 52nd Governor of New Jersey from January 15, 2002, until he resigned from office at 11:59 pm on November 15, 2004. His term was set to expire on January 17, 2006...

 and Republican Brett Schundler, garnering only 1% of the vote.

Schluter was appointed to the State Ethics Commission in 2006 by Governor Jon Corzine

Jon Corzine

Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...

. He is a resident of Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington, New Jersey

Pennington is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,585.Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of...

.