Ralph John Marino (January 2, 1928 – April 6, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was Temporary President of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from 1989 to 1994.

Life

Marino was born on January 2, 1928, in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1951; and from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

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 Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and had three children. Marino practiced law in Oyster Bay, and entered politics as a Republican. Generally considered a

Rockefeller Republican The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to- liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vi ...

, 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 Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

on the budget. The budget grew under his tenure as majority leader by some 50%. He opposed

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

's nomination for governor in 1994. Pataki won the election, and as ''de facto'' party leader engineered a caucus room coup against Marino with the aid of much more conservative Republicans from Upstate and

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

. Despite the fact that Marino's deputy and closest ally, Jess J. Present, was in fact from Western New York, Pataki's opposition and the growth of the budget resulted in his ouster in November 1994. He was succeeded by

Joseph Bruno Joseph Louis Bruno (April 8, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican politician from upstate New York. Bruno served in the New York State Senate from 1977 to 2008 and was Senate Majority Leader from 1994 to 2008. Br ...

, a conservative from the

Capital District A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...

. After sitting in the 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th and

191st New York State Legislature The 191st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1995, to December 31, 1996, during the first and second years of George Pataki's governorship, in Albany. Bac ...

s, Marino resigned his Senate seat on February 8, 1995. He died on April 6, 2002, in Mercy Medical Center in

Rockville Centre, New York Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated Village (New York), village located in the Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long ...

, of

tongue cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

. His wife Ethel died May 10, 2004.''Deaths; MARINO, ETHEL (NEE BERNSTEIN)''
in ''The New York Times'' on May 12, 2004

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marino, Ralph J. 1928 births 2002 deaths Fordham University School of Law alumni Syracuse University alumni New York (state) Republicans Majority leaders of the New York State Senate Politicians from Rochester, New York People from Oyster Bay (town), New York Lawyers from Rochester, New York 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature