BREAKING NEWS: State Sen. Bill Schluter, a Republican from Pennington, announced Wednesday the formation of a committee to explore the possibility of a run for governor.
By: Jennifer Potash
FLEMINGTON Against the backdrop of being redistricted out of his state Senate seat, Sen. William Schluter (R-Pennington) announced Wednesday a formation of an exploratory committee to run for governor in 2001.
Sen. Schluter’s district, the 23rd, comprises Pennington Borough, Hopewell Borough and Hopewell Township as well as most of Hunterdon County and all of Warren County, and may be re-drawn to move the three Mercer County municipalities into the 15th Legislative District, currently represented by Sen. Shirley Turner (D- Lawrence Township).
While the redistricting which occurs following every U.S. census was on his mind, Sen. Schluter said he has been considering jumping into the gubernatorial race for eight months and his supporters in Hunterdon County and around the state have urged him to do so.
"The purpose of my committee is to assess whether rank and file Republicans are ready and eager to support a candidate who embodies the values that our party was built upon responsible government, independent thinking, fiscal accountability, competition, and integrity of service," said Sen. Schluter. "I am certain that there is substantial public support in both the primary and general elections for a candidate who will focus on substance, not slogans, who will offer solutions, not sound bites, and who will work for the overall good of the public."
He said his signature issues campaign finance reform and property tax reform have not seriously been discussed by the other gubernatorial candidates Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco (R-Scotch Plains), Brett Schundler, the conservative Republican mayor of Jersey City and Jim McGreevey the Democratic mayor of Woodbridge.
"Property tax reform is the 800-pound gorilla in Trenton and I am willing to take on that 800-pound gorilla and I wish other people were," he said.
He has tapped friend and Hopewell resident Bob Pruitt to conduct polls and focus groups to test the senator’s viability as a candidate.
Mr. Pruitt, who owns Dana Communications and is a former president of the Hopewell Valley Regional school board, said it was a matter of "employing some traditional marketing strategies to determine whether Bill and his issues are viable in the market place."
Sen. Schluter said he will determine whether to announce a run for governor in the next few weeks.
The filing deadline for the June primary election is April 12. He must obtain 1,000 signatures from New Jersey residents to be listed on the primary ballot.
But Sen. Schluter does not see the compressed time period as a problem.
"We could get all the signatures from Pennington if we want," he said. As a co-chair of Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign in New Jersey, Sen. Schluter said that association could be a factor in generating support among voters for his candidacy.
While he prefers to run as a Republican, in order to improve the party, he did not rule out making an independent bid for governor.
"I never say never," Sen. Schluter said.
Sen. Schluter has served in the state senate for 10 years and the state Assembly for three years.
An honors graduate of Princeton University, where he played varsity ice hockey, Sen. Schluter and his wife Nancy have six grown children.