Stephen Minarik
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stephen J. Minarik III (January 2, 1960, 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 ...
– April 12, 2009 in
Webster, New York Webster is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in the northeastern corner of Monroe County, New York, United States. The town is named after orator and statesman Daniel Webster. The population was 45,327 at the 2020 census, up from ...
) was a New York State political figure who served as the chairman of the
Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...
, and
New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
Republican Committees.


Life

Minarik was the son of Stephen J., Jr. and Eleanor Minarik. He graduated from
Irondequoit High School Irondequoit High School (IHS) is a co-educational public school in Rochester, New York in the suburb of Irondequoit, New York. It was founded in 1924 as a part of the current West Irondequoit Central School District. History Irondequoit Distric ...
in 1978 and received a bachelor's degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
in 1982. He credited working in his grandfather's restaurant, Steve's Treetop Inn, as key to his future political career. He began his career in politics in 1979 with Young Americans For Freedom the nation's largest young conservative organization. He became active in government in 1983, when he was hired to be the assistant deputy county clerk in the office of the Monroe County Legislature's Republican majority. He worked on Republican campaigns, most notably those of Congressman
Fred J. Eckert Fred James Eckert (born May 6, 1941) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 30th congressional district for one term. A friend and political ally of Ronald Rea ...
and County Executive Lucien Morin. In 1988, he moved to a position in the county's community development administration and formed a campaign committee in 1989 to elect Republicans to the County Legislature. In 1990, the GOP hired him to be the executive director of its county committee which led to his election to chairman in 1992, a post he held for sixteen years. During this time, he led the Republican Party to a takeover of the County Legislature and elected three consecutive Republican county executives:
Robert L. King Robert L. King (born December 27, 1946) is an American higher education leader and former Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. He previously served as president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecond ...
, Jack Doyle, and Maggie Brooks. Said Ben Smith of the
New York Observer New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
, ''"his record in Rochester is, in political terms, difficult to argue with: With only a slight Republican registration advantage, and working both as a paid political consultant and as county chairman, he took nearly all of the county’s important offices away from the ruling Democrats and built a formidable organization"''. His successes as county chairman led Governor George E. Pataki to select him to be the Republican state chairman in November 2004. Minarik quickly came under attack following his remarks on the election of
Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...
as chairman of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, stating that the Democrats were now ''the party of
Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...
,
Lynne Stewart Lynne Irene Stewart (October 8, 1939 – March 7, 2017) was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terro ...
, and
Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...
''. These comments set off a national firestorm, with Pataki publicly rebuking Minarik, and Dean demanding an apology or Minarik's resignation. Minarik refused, calling this "just the latest '' Dean scream'', and stating that ''the Democrats would be wise to take action on members like
Lynne Stewart Lynne Irene Stewart (October 8, 1939 – March 7, 2017) was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terro ...
, rather than attacking me. Maybe then the Democratic Party can start to regain some credibility with the American people''. Minarik also earned the ire of State Senator
Serphin Maltese Serphin R. Maltese (born December 7, 1932) is an American attorney and retired politician from the state of New York. A onetime chairman of the Conservative Party of New York, Maltese served as a state senator from district 15 from 1989 through ...
for leading a successful push to revamp the state committee's bylaws, and to include the
Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which works to educate the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other. History Log Cabin Republicans was formed in 1977 in California as a rallying ...
on the State GOP's executive committee. Stated Minarik, ''in the Republican Party we are allowed to have diversity of opinion. While I may agree with Serph Maltese on many of the issues, particularly with regard to the Log Cabin Republican group, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to sit at our table and be part of our party. Inclusion won, and inclusion won handily. I'm happy about that''. Minarik was a vocal booster of former
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
Governor
William F. Weld William Floyd Weld (born July 31, 1945) is an American attorney, businessman, author, and politician who served as the 68th Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. A Harvard graduate, Weld began his career as legal counsel to the United ...
's candidacy for governor, and unsuccessfully pushed for the party to run moderate Republican candidates for governor and United States Senate. In June 2006, the State Republican Committee proceeded to nominate a conservative slate of candidates not favored by Minarik, including Gubernatorial nominee
John Faso John James Faso Jr. (; born August 25, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2019. Faso was first elected to the post in 2016. A Republican, Faso previously represented the 102nd di ...
. Minarik prevailed on Weld to drop out of the Gubernatorial election to unify the party behind Faso. Faso faced questions during the campaign regarding his conservatism, his
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
position and his lobbying activities. The Faso-led ticket lost all statewide offices to the Democrats for the first time in 60 years, and lost three Congressional seats. This included losses to Governor
Eliot L. Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party (United State ...
and State Comptroller
Alan Hevesi Alan George Hevesi (January 31, 1940 – November 9, 2023) was a convicted felon and American politician who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2001, and as New York State Comptro ...
; both of whom would later resign their offices in disgrace. Minarik stepped down as chairman shortly after the 2006 elections. In 2008, he stepped down as chairman of the Monroe County Republican Committee at the request of Maggie Brooks. Minarik was a stroke survivor who reported developing a preference for country music after the incident. He lived resided in
Webster, New York Webster is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in the northeastern corner of Monroe County, New York, United States. The town is named after orator and statesman Daniel Webster. The population was 45,327 at the 2020 census, up from ...
, and was a partner in a political consulting firm, Impact Communications, LLC.


Death

Minarik died on April 12, 2009, of a heart attack, aged 49. In an editorial mourning his death, the ''Rochester Democrat and Chronicle'' stated that,
Wherever you stood on his political style and methods – and this page was a frequent critic over the years – former Monroe County Republican chairman Steve Minarik, who died Sunday, was an accomplished political leader in this community...People stayed on message, and Republican control of the county executive's office, the county Legislature and most town and village governments testified to his success over his 16-year tenure as county chair and two years as state chair.


References


External links


Monroe County Republican Committee
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minarik, Stephen New York (state) Republicans Politicians from Rochester, New York University of Rochester alumni American political consultants State political party chairs of New York (state) 1960 births 2009 deaths