John M. Skevin (June 14, 1927 – October 18, 1993) was an American Democratic 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 the ...

Early life and education

Born in West New York, New Jersey, Skevin attended

Memorial High School Memorial High School may refer to: United States As ''Memorial High School'' alone *Memorial High School (Millville, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (St. Marys, Ohio) * Memorial High School (Tul ...

and graduated from

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

and

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

after completing his military service in the United States Army.

Political career

Skevin lost his first bid for Assemblyman in 1963. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1965, but was defeated for re-election two years later by Republicans William Crane and Michael Ferrara. He ran again in 1969, but lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Lee Carlton and Vincente Tibbs. A resident of

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, Skevin was elected to represent the 38th Legislative District in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

in 1973, beating Joseph Ventricelli in the Democratic primary and incumbent Republican Sen. Frederick Wendel in the general election. He was re-elected in 1977 against former Hackensack Mayor Frank A. Buono, Jr. In 1981, he lost his bid for a third term to Republican

John B. Paolella John B. Paolella (born February 14, 1949) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature from the New Jersey's 38th legislative district, 38th district– one t ...

. A 1983 comeback bid was unsuccessful; he lost the Democratic primary to his former running mate, Assemblyman Paul Contillo. In 1986, Skevin was disbarred for misappropriating clients' funds after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that he combined personal funds with an attorney trust account that ran a $133,500 deficit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skevin, John 1927 births 1993 deaths Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) alumni People from Hackensack, New Jersey United States Army soldiers People from West New York, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey St. John's University (New York City) alumni 20th-century American politicians