Walter Rand (May 31, 1919 – January 6, 1995), born Walter Rappaport, was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who was a specialist on transportation issues while serving in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature. Rand was a resident of Bellmawr.[1]

Walter Rand
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 12, 1982 – January 6, 1995
Preceded byAngelo Errichetti
Succeeded byWayne R. Bryant
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
January 13, 1976 – January 12, 1982
Preceded byRonald J. Casella
Succeeded byWayne R. Bryant
Francis J. Gorman
Personal details
Born(1919-05-31)May 31, 1919
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedJanuary 6, 1995(1995-01-06) (aged 75)
Camden, New Jersey
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

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Rand was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to Camden, where he was an elected member of the board of education of the Camden City Public Schools from 1971 to 1974.[1] He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1975 and to the New Jersey Senate in 1981, where he was a former chairman of the Senate Transportation and Public Utilities Committee.[1]

Rand sponsored laws that created New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund, which combined aid received from the Federal government, state appropriations and highway bond proceeds to pay for an accelerated road building and repair program. He wrote the bill that led to creation of the South Jersey Transportation Authority and allowed Atlantic City International Airport to expand.[1] After Rand's death in 1995, Wayne R. Bryant was named to fill his seat in the State Senate. The Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden is named in his honor, as is the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs established at the Rutgers–Camden campus in 1999.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sullivan, Joseph F. "Walter Rand, 75, New Jersey Senator And Transit Expert", The New York Times, January 7, 1995. Accessed December 27, 2013. "State Senator Walter Rand, a specialist on transportation issues during his 20 years in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, died today at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center here. A resident of Bellmawr, a Camden suburb, he was 75."
  2. ^ History of the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers–Camden. Accessed December 27, 2013. "Founded in 2000 under the leadership of Dr. Richard Harris, the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs (WRI) was organized to honor Senator Rand’s legacy of public service to southern New Jersey and to his home town of Camden."