Pierce H. Deamer Jr. (April 24, 1907 – June 12, 1986) was an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

, serving in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 1952 to 1962 and then in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

until 1966.

Early life

Deamer was born on April 24, 1907, in New York City, the son of Pierce H. Deamer and Adelaide Bernhardt Deamer. His father was a national labor organizer and served as Vice President of the Upholsterers International Union. He moved to

Bergenfield, New Jersey Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321, an increase of 1,557 (+5.8%) from the 2010 census count of 26,764, which in turn reflected ...

, in his youth and graduated from

Tenafly High School Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school in Tenafly in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Tenafly Public Sc ...

and the New Jersey Law School (now

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

). He maintained law offices in Bergenfield, where he served as the Bergenfield Municipal Judge and as Chairman of the Bergenfield Civil Defense. He was Municipal Attorney for Bergenfield and New Milford. He was counsel to the Bergen County Sheriff from 1948 to 1951.

New Jersey General Assembly

He was elected to the

in 1951, and was re-elected in 1953, 1955, 1957 and 1959.

New Jersey State Senate

He was elected to the

in 1961, defeating

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H, ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

Mayor Fred C. Galda 160,125 (55.8%) to 124,492 (43.4%). The U.S. Supreme Court, in ''

Reynolds v. Sims ''Reynolds v. Sims'', 377 U.S. 533 (1964), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the single-seat electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population. Along with '' Bak ...

'' (more commonly known as One Man, One Vote), required redistricting by state legislatures for congressional districts to keep represented populations equal, as well as requiring both houses of state legislatures to have districts drawn that contained roughly equal populations, and to perform redistricting when needed. Because of its population, Bergen County gained three Senate seats. A deep split among Bergen County Republicans intensified in 1963 when Deamer and former State Senator Walter H. Jones faced off in an election for Bergen County Republican Chairman. Jones won, and by 1965, Deamer found himself dumped from the Bergen County Republican Organization line. Jones backed Assembly Speaker Marion West Higgins, Assemblyman

Peter Moraites Peter Moraites (June 8, 1922 – January 7, 2014; pronounced mo-RAY-tees) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1969. Early life Moraites was born ...

, and former Assemblymen Nelson G. Gross and Arthur Vervaet. Deamer ran on an insurgent ticket with Assemblymen Richard Vander Plaat and Harry Randall, Jr., and former Assemblyman Carmine Savino. Jones' slate won decisively.

1965 Republican primary for State Senator - Bergen County

Family and death

He married Agnes M. Churchill of

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held every September. As of the 2020 United States cen ...

on January 4, 1939, and had four children. Deamer died on June 12, 1986, in Bergenfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deamer, Pierce H. Jr. Republican Party New Jersey state senators Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey state court judges Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Tenafly High School alumni People from Bergenfield, New Jersey 1907 births 1986 deaths 20th-century New Jersey state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature