Zimmer, Dick, 1944 August 16-

Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he notably served as the U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 12th congressional district from 1991 to 1997.

Born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Hillside, Bloomfield, and Glen Ridge, New Jersey, he graduated from Glen Ridge High School before earning B.A. and LL.B. degrees from Yale University. In the summer of 1965, he worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Republican U.S. Senator Clifford P. Case, after which time he became active in Republican politics. After receiving his LL.B. in 1969 he worked as an attorney in New York and New Jersey for several years, first for Cravath, Swaine & Moore 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 and also championed campaign finance reform.

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