David Bennett Mazur (December 14, 1924 – October 11, 1994) was an American politician and academic who served six terms 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 ...

, where he represented the 37th Legislative District from 1982 to 1992. Mazur also spent two decades as a professor at

Ramapo College Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a public liberal arts college in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college ...

Early life and education

Born in Manhattan, New York City, Mazur served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he earned a Bronze Star Medal as an infantryman, in addition to three

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s. He earned his undergraduate degree with a major in economics from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

, followed by a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

with a major in economics and finance. He earned a Ph.D. from

Rutgers University–New Brunswick Rutgers University–New Brunswick is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's public research university. It is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway. It is the oldest campus of the university, the others bein ...

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

and public policy formation.

Career

At the time he earned his Ph.D., Mazur was employed by the ''

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

''. Mazur was a longtime professor at

in Mahwah, where he taught planning and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

.Sullivan, Joseph F
"D. Bennett Mazur, a Professor And New Jersey Legislator, 69"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', October 13, 1994. Accessed June 15, 2010. Mazur moved to

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

after completing his military service, where he became a tenant activist. He was first elected to the Bergen County

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

in 1964, serving in office from 1965 to 1967 and again from 1975 to 1980. In 1966, Mayor of New York City

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

named Mazur to serve on the Metropolitan Regional Council, where he was chosen to head the organization's committee on the future of the Tri-State region. As Freeholder in 1977, Mazur led efforts to save the

Campbell-Christie House The Campbell-Christie House is a historic home that has been relocated to New Bridge Landing in River Edge, Bergen County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 1983, as part of the Early Stone Hou ...

, an historic home that had been slated for demolition. With a $150,000 grant, the 200-year-old home was moved two miles from New Milford to a site at

New Bridge Landing New Bridge was a prosperous mill hamlet, centered upon a bridge strategically placed at the narrows of the Hackensack River. In the American Revolution, New Bridge Landing was the site of a strategic bridge crossing the Hackensack River, where Ge ...

in River Edge. He was elected to the Assembly in 1981, where legislation he proposed in 1984 banned the use of leg hold traps by hunters,Russell, Susan
"On Banning Leg-Hold Traps"
''

'', April 4, 1993 letter. Accessed June 16, 2010. created the state's 911 system and banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He served on the Hudson River Waterfront Planning and Study Commission, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Study Commission and the Tri-State Regional Planning Commission. Mazur was elected to serve a sixth term in office in November 1991, but was forced to resign on February 24, 1992, due to a stroke he suffered on Election Day.Staff
"TEANECK COUNCILWOMAN TAKES OVER MAZUR'S ASSEMBLY SEAT"
'' The Record'', March 17, 1992. Accessed June 15, 2010.

Loretta Weinberg Loretta Weinberg (born February 6, 1935) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 2005-2022, where she represented the 37th Legislative District. She also served as Senate Majority Leader. ...

was chosen by Democratic committee members in March 1992 to fill the seat he vacated in the Assembly and was sworn into office in later that month.

Personal life

Mazur married the Betty (née Greene) of the Bronx on September 3, 1951. Mazur died at age 69 on October 11, 1994, at Holy Name Hospital in

Teaneck, New Jersey 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. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

due to complications of the stroke. He had four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazur, D. Bennett 1924 births 1994 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Lafayette College alumni County commissioners in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Fort Lee, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Ramapo College faculty Rutgers University alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century American politicians