- Ralph J. Marino
Ralph John Marino (
January 2 ,1928 -April 6 ,2002 ) wasmajority leader of theNew York State Senate from 1988 until 1994. He was ousted during theThanksgiving holiday in 1994 by allies of then Governor-electGeorge Pataki and replaced byJoseph 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 fromSyracuse University in 1951 and a J.D. degree fromFordham 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 onLong Island .ref|NYTimes-obituaryPolitical 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 replacedWarren M. Anderson of Binghamton as Majority Leader in 1989.ref|NYTimes-obituary2Marino 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 GovernorMario 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 electedJoseph Bruno , a conservative from theCapital 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-deadSources
# 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
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