Ralph J. Marino
Ralph John Marino (January 2, 1928 – April 6, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Temporary President of the New York State Senate from 1989 to 1994.
Life
Marino was born on January 2, 1928, in Rochester, New York. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1951; and from Fordham University School of Law in 1954. He met his wife Ethel Bernstein while studying at Syracuse. They married in 1954, and settled in her hometown of Oyster Bay on Long Island, and had three children. Marino practiced law in Oyster Bay, and entered politics as a Republican.
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 succeeded Warren M. Anderson as Temporary President and Majority Leader in 1989.
He was one of the very few downstate politicians to hold the Senate Majority Leader position and the first Long Islander to hold the position. Marino frequently sparred with Governor Mario Cuomo on the budget. The budget grew under his tenure as majority leader by some 50%, which perhaps made his loss to Bruno in 1994 easier.
He opposed George Pataki's nomination for governor in 1994. After the election, Governor-Elect Pataki became de facto party leader, and ousted Marino in late November 1994 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 J. Present, was in fact from Western New York. In Marino's place, Republicans elected Joseph Bruno, a conservative from the Capital District.
After sitting in the 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th and 191st New York State Legislatures, Marino resigned his Senate seat on February 8, 1995.[1]
He died on April 6, 2002, in Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York, of tongue cancer.[2] His wife Ethel died May 10, 2004.[3]
Sources
- ↑ Ex-Majority Chief Resigns From State Senate in the New York Times on February 9, 1995
- ↑ Ralph J. Marino, Former State Senate Leader, Dies at 74 in the New York Times on April 7, 2002
- ↑ Deaths; MARINO, ETHEL (NEE BERNSTEIN) in the New York Times on May 12, 2004
| New York State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 3rd District 1969–1972 |
Succeeded by Caesar Trunzo |
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 5th District 1973–1995 |
Succeeded by Carl Marcellino |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Temporary President of the State Senate 1989–1994 |
Succeeded by Joseph Bruno |
