Jim Courter

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Jim Courter

| image name = Jim Courter.jpg

| office = Chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission

| president = George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton

| 1blankname = {{Nowrap|Secretary}}

| 1namedata = Dick Cheney
Les Aspin
William Perry

| term_start = 1991

| term_end = 1994

| predecessor = position established

| successor = Alan J. Dixon

| office1 = Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey

| constituency1 = {{ushr|NJ|13|13th district}} (1979–1983)
{{ushr|NJ|12|12th district}} (1983–1991)

| term_start1 = January 3, 1979

| term_end1 = January 3, 1991

| preceded1 = Helen Stevenson Meyner

| succeeded1 = Dick Zimmer

| party = Republican

| birth_name = James Andrew Courter

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|10|14}}

| birth_place = Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.

| death_date =

| spouse =

| religion =

| occupation =

| residence = Hackettstown, New Jersey

| education =Colgate University (BA)
Duke University (JD)

}}

James Andrew Courter (born October 14, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician and attorney. He represented parts of northwestern New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991. In 1989, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of New Jersey.

Early life and education

Courter was born October 14, 1941, in Montclair, New Jersey.{{cite web|url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000809|title=COURTER, James Andrew (1941 -)|website=Bioguide.Congress.gov|access-date=August 28, 2003}}

Courter graduated from Montclair Academy in 1959, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963 from Colgate University, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law in 1966. After law school, Courter became a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela. He was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C., in 1966 and in New Jersey in 1971.

Career

Courter served as an assistant corporation counsel for Washington, D.C., from 1969 to 1970. He worked for Union County Legal Services from 1970 to 1971. In 1972, Courter founded a law firm in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Courter was a first assistant prosecutor in Warren County, New Jersey from 1973 to 1977. He co-founded Warren County Legal Services in 1975 and served as an attorney for municipalities in Warren and Sussex counties.

A Republican, Courter served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years, from 1979 until 1991. He represented New Jersey's 12th congressional district, located in northwestern New Jersey.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/25/nyregion/in-campaign-courter-aims-to-pin-down-his-identity.html|title=In Campaign, Courter Aims To Pin Down His Identity|first1=Anthony|last1=Depalma|date=September 25, 1989|work=The New York Times}} Courter was described as the most conservative member of New Jersey's congressional delegation.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/01/in-new-jersey-courter-runs-toward-center/31fe6e6f-b23e-4bd9-95c8-d13099c32ab5/|title=In New Jersey, Courter Runs Toward Center |newspaper=Washington Post |last=Balz |first=Dan|date=October 1, 1989}} He was the Republican Party nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1989, but lost in a landslide to Democrat Jim Florio.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/01/nyregion/balancing-act-is-expected-of-florio-s-new-chief-of-staff.html |title=Balancing Act Is Expected of Florio's New Chief of Staff|work=The New York Times |last=King |first=Wayne|date=September 1, 1990}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2022/09/26/james-florio-nj-south-jersey-death-donald-norcross/69519043007/|title=South Jersey officials react to death of former New Jersey governor Jim Florio|website=Courier-Post|date=September 26, 2022}} Courter did not seek re-election to Congress in 1990.

From 1991 to 1993, Courter served as chairman of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

Personal life

Courter is married to Carmen Courter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment-general/2015/05/rv_smashes_into_home_of_us_rep.html|title=RV leaves gaping hole in home of U.S. Rep. Jim Courter in 1990 |last=Brekus |first=Pete |date=May 17, 2015|website=lehighvalleylive.com}}

In 1990, a 12-ton recreational vehicle collided with the front of the Courters' Hackettstown, New Jersey home. The Courters were unhurt.

The Courters' daughter, Katrina, married Taylor Whitman, son of former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, in 2006.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/fashion/weddings/katrina-courter-taylor-whitman.html|title=Katrina Courter, Taylor Whitman|date=September 10, 2006|work=The New York Times}}

Works

Defending Democracy, American Studies Center, June 1, 1986 {{ISBN|0-931727-04-9}}
Defense Base Closure & Realignment Commission: Report to the President, Diane Publishing Co, April 1, 1994 {{ISBN|0-7881-0695-3}}