Ralph J. Marino

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ralph John Marino (January 2, 1928 - April 6, 2002) was majority leader of the New York State Senate from 1988 until 1994. He was ousted during the Thanksgiving holiday in 1994 by allies of then Governor-elect George Pataki and replaced by Joseph Bruno.

[edit] Personal life

Marino was born in Rochester, New York. He served in the army from 1946 to 1947. He received a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University in 1951 and a J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1954. He met his wife at Syracuse when they shared a political science class. He later settled with her, after their marriage in 1954, in her hometown of Oyster Bay on Long Island.^[1]

[edit] Political life

Generally considered a Rockefeller Republican, he was first elected to the Senate in 1968 and became known for protecting Long Island's interests in Albany. He replaced Warren M. Anderson of Binghamton as Majority Leader in 1988.^[2]

Marino was a Long Island member of the Republican Party. He was one of the very few downstate politicians to hold the Senate Majority Leader position. Marino frequently sparred with former Governor Mario Cuomo on the budget. The budget grew under his tenure as majority leader by some 50%,^[3] which perhaps made his loss to Bruno in 1994 easier.

He opposed George Pataki's nomination for governor in 1994. Upon becoming governor, Pataki became de facto party leader, and easily overthrew Marino with the aid of much more conservative Republicans from Upstate and Western New York despite the fact that Marino's deputy and closest ally, Jess Present, was in fact from Western New York. In Marino's place, Republicans elected Joseph Bruno, a conservative from the Capital District.

He resigned from the legislature, effective February 8, 1995, having been stripped of all of his leadership positions.

He died, at the age of 74, of tongue cancer at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York. His wife Ethel died May 10, 2004.^[4]

[edit] Sources

1. ^  McFadden, Robert D. "Ralph J. Marino, Former State Senate Leader, Dies at 74." The New York Times (Section 1; Column 3; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 34), April 7, 2002.
2. ^  ibid
3. ^  Baker, Al. "And That's 20: Albany Budget Is Late Again." The New York Times (Section A; Column 1; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 1; GRIDLOCK IN ALBANY: OVERVIEW), April 1, 2004.
4. ^  "Paid Notice: Deaths MARINO, ETHEL (NEE BERNSTEIN)." The New York Times (Section A; Column 3; Classified; Pg. 21), May 12, 2004

Preceded by Henry Curran	New York State Senate, 3rd District 1969–1972	Succeeded by Caesar Trunzo
Preceded by John Caemmerer	New York State Senate, 5th District 1973–1995	Succeeded by Carl Marcellino
Preceded by Warren M. Anderson	Majority Leader of the New York State Senate 1989–1994	Succeeded by Joseph Bruno