Sierra Club Saddened by Passing of William E. Schluter

Former New Jersey Assemblyman and Senator William E. Schluter passed away on August 6^th, 2018 at the age of 90. Schluter was a New Jersey politician from 1968 through 2002 and served as a State Senator for the last twelve of those years. He also ran for Governor in 2002 as an independent. The Pennington resident was appointed to the State Ethics Commission in 2006 by Governor Corzine. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“We are saddened by the loss of William Schluter. He was an environmental champion and a leader in good government and reform. Known as ‘Mr. Ethics’, Schluter was an upstanding member of the New Jersey legislature who made it his mission to enhance ethics and morality within our state government. He fought to end pay-to-play and worked tirelessly for open government and transparency. He sponsored numerous pieces of important legislation including the state’s campaign-finance disclosure law and lobbyist registration law. The Sierra Club believes that only with campaign finance reform will the environment get a fair shake.

“We worked very closely with Bill Schluter on many issues. He was a liberal Republican who sided with us on protecting open space, promoting smart growth, and protecting air quality and clean water. He championed many important pieces of legislation on preservation and conservation and supported dedicating CBT for environment purposes. He fought to force developers to pay fees to offset consequences of sprawl. Schluter was a man of integrity who stood up to political power on behalf of good government. He was a friend who helped to educate and mentor me and will be greatly missed.”