Ralph J. Marino

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.

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.ref|NYTimes-obituary

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 1989.ref|NYTimes-obituary2

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 and the first Long Islander to hold the position. Marino frequently sparred with former Governor Mario Cuomo on the budget. The budget grew under his tenure as majority leader by some 50%,ref|NYTimes-And-That's-20-Albany-Budget-Is-Late-Again 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.ref|NY-Times-Ethel-dead

Sources

# 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.
# "ibid"
# 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.
# "Paid Notice: Deaths MARINO, ETHEL (NEE BERNSTEIN)." "The New York Times" (Section A; Column 3; Classified; Pg. 21), May 12, 2004