John Joseph Marchi (May 20, 1921 – April 25, 2009) was an American attorney and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

who represented

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

for 50 years. Marchi (pronounced MAR-key), a Republican, retired on December 31, 2006, from the seat that he had held since January 1, 1957. He was the Republican nominee for

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

Personal life

He attended parochial schools on Staten Island before graduating with honors from

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

in 1942. Marchi subsequently earned a J.D. from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

in 1950 and a

J.S.D. A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree. Australia The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...

from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

in 1953. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the Coast Guard on antisubmarine duty in the Atlantic and with the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in the Okinawa campaign in the Pacific. Marchi also served as a Commander in the Active Reserve after the war, retiring from the service in 1982. On October 19, 2006, the 85-year-old Marchi passed out and fell from his chair at the annual Alfred E. Smith Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. Marchi died on April 25, 2009, due to complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, while vacationing in Lucca, Italy, with his wife and other family members.

Professional Life

Marchi was first elected on November 6, 1956, after having served as a Senate aide. He was a member of the

from 1957 to 2006, sitting in the 171st, 172nd, 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th and

196th New York State Legislature The 196th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 2005, to December 31, 2006, during the eleventh and twelfth years of George Pataki's governorship, in Albany. St ...

s. Marchi was active in conservative issues, particularly of a fiscal nature, during his long Senate tenure. Marchi wrote the state laws to help New York City recover from its fiscal crisis and near bankruptcy in the 1970s. Marchi ran twice for Mayor of New York City. He won a surprise upset over Mayor

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

in the 1969 Republican primary. He ran in the general election against Lindsay, who was still the Liberal Party nominee, and Democratic

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

Mario Procaccino Mario Angelo Procaccino (September 5, 1912 – December 20, 1995) was an Italian-American lawyer, comptroller, and candidate for Mayor of New York City. Life and career Procaccino was born in Bisaccia, Italy. When he was nine years old, his f ...

. Marchi and Procaccino lost to Lindsay. Marchi was the Republican nominee again in 1973, but he lost to Comptroller

Abraham D. Beame Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. ...

, the Democrat that Lindsay had defeated in 1965, while he came in ahead of

Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his political career, Biagg ...

and

Albert H. Blumenthal Albert Howard Blumenthal (October 13, 1928 – July 8, 1984) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Blumenthal was born on October 13, 1928, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Bennet M. Blumenthal (1888–1980) an ...

. Previously, he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for Borough President of Staten Island in 1961. Marchi worked to improve public education in the 1980s and was appointed as Chairman of the Temporary State Commission on New York City School Governance in 1989. This commission conducted a two-year study on the control and governance in New York City schools and provided recommendations to the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

on improving administration and public participation in the school system. Senator Marchi also provided assistance to the College of Staten Island so that the school could obtain the land of the former Willowbrook State School for a campus. Marchi was a longtime advocate for the secession of Staten Island from New York City. He wrote a law which backed a secession referendum in 1993. While the referendum passed, the legislature has not allowed Staten Island to become its own city. As a part of his Staten Island secession work, Marchi drafted a model charter for a new City of Staten Island. Marchi also drafted the law to close the

Fresh Kills Landfill The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western State ...

on Staten Island. Marchi was the only Republican member of the State Senate who opposed the death penalty.Senator John J. Marchi Papers, held by the College of Staten Island Archives and Special Collections
/ref> Marchi was a member of the executive committee and the Board of Governors of the

Council of State Governments The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that ...

. He was appointed by U.S. President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

to the National Advisory Committee on Drug Abuse Prevention.

Senate leadership positions

*Chairman of the Joint Liquor Laws Committee *Chairman of the Senate Commerce and Navigation Committee *Chairman of the Joint New York City Docks Committee *Chairman of the Joint Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Committee *Chairman of the Senate Constitutional Affairs Subcommittee *Chairman of the Senate City of New York Committee *Chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee *Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee *Chairman of the Senate Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee *Vice President Pro Tempore of the Senate *Chairman of the Temporary State Commission on New York City School Governance *Chairman of the New York State Charter Commission for Staten Island *Chairman of the Staten Island Charter Commission *Deputy Majority Leader for Intergovernmental Relations *Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee *Assistant Majority Whip *Assistant Majority Leader for Conference Operations *Chairman of the Senate Task Force on World Trade Center Recovery

Legacy

A new Staten Island Ferry boat was named in Marchi's honor in 2006. John Marchi Hall was named in his honor on campus of the College of Staten Island in 2006. The building is located in the "north" side of campus; building 2N. A collection of Marchi's legislative and personal files are available at the College of Staten Island Archives and Special Collections.

References

External links

Senator John J. Marchi Papers at The College of Staten Island Archives and Special Collections

Senator John J. Marchi's Official Retirement Statement
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/nyregion/27marchi.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=john%20marchi&st=cse John J. Marchi, Who Fought for Staten Island in Senate, Dies at 87 – New York Times – Sunday, April 26, 2009] * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchi, John 1921 births 2009 deaths American people of Italian descent United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II Republican Party New York (state) state senators Brooklyn Law School alumni 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Staten Island United States Navy personnel of World War II Candidates in the 1973 United States elections People from Staten Island