Ned J. Parsekian

Ned J. Parsekian (August 29, 1921 – June 9, 2008) was an American lawyer and politician who headed the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and served in the New Jersey Senate, representing Bergen County, New Jersey.

The son of immigrants who escaped the Armenian Genocide, Parsekian was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on August 29, 1921. He attended New York University and then served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Force before using the GI Bill to earn degrees at Columbia University and Columbia Law School.[1][2]

In January 1959, he was sworn in on an acting basis and nominated to head the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission by Governor of New Jersey Robert B. Meyner.[3] For years, Walter H. Jones of Bergen County blocked the nomination. Parsekian served as acting director for three years until Pierce H. Deamer Jr. consented to the nomination.[4] Senators had objected to his confirmation because he vigorously opposed the widespread practice of state senators fixing motor vehicle tickets.[5] Then a resident of Flemington, New Jersey, Parsekian resigned from his position in May 1964.[6]

Governor Richard J. Hughes nominated Parsekian to the New Jersey Superior Court in August 1964,[7] but Deamer refused to sign off and the nomination was withdrawn.[8]

A resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey, Parsekian was one of four Democrats elected in 1965 to represent the 13th Senatorial District in the New Jersey Senate, alongside Matthew Feldman, Alfred Kiefer and Jeremiah F. O'Connor.[9] Parsekian and Assemblyman Vito Albanese introduced legislation in June 1966 that would eliminate the Borough of Teterboro and divide it up into four adjacent municipalities.[10] Parsekian lost his re-election bid in 1967, as Republicans swept all five seats.[11]

He died in Sarasota, Florida, on June 8, 2008.[5]

References

  1. ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1967, p. 373. Accessed September 4, 2025. "Ned J. Parsekian (Dem., Ridgewood) - Senator Parsekian was born August 29, 1921, in Springfield, Mass. He received his education at New York University, 1941-42; Columbia University School of General Studies, 1946-47; and Columbia University School of Law, 1947."
  2. ^ Zaloudek, Mark. "Former lawmaker was not afraid to buck the system", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 14, 2008. Accessed June 30, 2025. "Ned Parsekian, a former senator in New Jersey who also held other state posts, savored his reputation for challenging business as usual in government.... He served in the New Jersey Senate from 1965 to 1967 and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor of the state in 1969."
  3. ^ "Parsekina Will Head MV Dept.", The Morning Call, January 3, 1959. Accessed September 4, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Ned J. Parsekian, former head of the State Workmen's Com• pensation program, officially becomes acting director of the State Motor Vehicle Division at midnight tonight. Parsekian was sworn in as deputy director of the division Wednesday by Superior Court Judge *Sidney Goldmann. He was to formally assume the post tonight on an acting basis when the resignation of director Frederick J. Gassert becomes effective. Parkesian, a 37-year-old attorney, was sworn in without the customary practice of first announcing such appointments to news men. Gov. Robert B, Meyner is expected to nominate Parsekian for the directorship after the 1959 legislature convenes Jan. 13."
  4. ^ "The nomination nobody wanted", The Observer, March 18, 2010. Accessed September 4, 2025. "The offered the slot to Ned Parsekian, a 44-year-old State Senator from Bergen County (he was elected eight months earlier) with a reputation for political independence. He had served as Acting Director of the state Division of Motor Vehicles, and because of his unwillingness to use the office for political purposes, the State Senate had held his nomination as Director for three years; in 1964, his nomination as a Superior Court Judge was also blocked."
  5. ^ a b Levin, Jay. "Ned Parsekian, 86; fought ticket fixing", The Record, June 12, 2008. Accessed September 4, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Ned J. Parsekian waged war against ticket fixing while running the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles in the era of the soaring tailfin. He ended the practice of state senators interceding - for a price - on behalf of motorists wanting to beat their violations. That didn't make Mr. Parsekian popular in Trenton. Lawmakers had grown attached to their ticket-fixing racket. It wasn't until 1962 - more than three years after Mr. Parsekian was named DMV acting director - that the Republican-controlled state Senate removed the word "acting" from his title. Mr. Parsekian, a maverick Democrat who later represented Bergen County in the state Senate, died Monday in Sarasota, Fla. He was 86 and moved to Sarasota from Ridgewood in the 1990s."
  6. ^ "Motor Vehicle Chief in Jersey Resigns After Six Years in Post; Parsekian Is Expected to Be Named a Superior Court Judge by Governor", The New York Times, April 22, 1964. Accessed September 4, 2025. "Ned J. Parsekian resigned today as director of the State Motor Vehicle Division. He gave no explanation, but he had made it clear since last June that he wished to relinquish the $16,000 a‐year post.... A graduate of Columbia University and Columbia Law School, the 42‐year‐old lawyer is married and lives with his wife and four children in Flemington."
  7. ^ "Hughes Appoints 20 To Courts in Jersey; 9 Others Promoted", The New York Times, August 11, 1964. Accessed September 4, 2025. "Ned J. Parsekian, who resigned recently as director of the State Division of Motor Vehicles, was among eight new Superior Court judges appointed. Mr. Parsekian's resignation takes effect on Sept. 5."
  8. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Parsekian Opens Jersey Campaign; Attacks Hughes and Meyner in Bid for Governorship", The New York Times, January 17, 1969. Accessed September 4, 2025. "The 47-year-old candidate wasted little time today in criticizing former Governor Meyner, who gave him his first major appointment in state government, and Governor Hughes, the Democrat who tried to get him a Superior Court judgeship.... His nomination by Mr. Hughes as a Superior Court judge subsequently was blocked by the State Senate."
  9. ^ Results of the General Election Held November 2, 1965, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed September 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "22-Person Tax Haven Would Keep Identity", The New York Times, June 2, 1966. Accessed June 27, 2025. "The New Jersey Legislature was asked yesterday to abolish this community of about 50 industries, 8 homes and 22 residents. The angry citizenry vowed here today to fight for their municipal identity. Legislation introduced by two Bergen County Democrats, Assemblyman Vito A. Albanese and Senator Ned J. Parsekian, would break up this square mile of converted swamp, where industry pays low taxes and the residents don't pay any."
  11. ^ Results of the General Election Held November 7, 1967, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed September 4, 2025.
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