Ralph John Marino (January 2, 1928 – April 6, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Temporary President of the New York State Senate from 1989 to 1994.

Life

Marino was born on January 2, 1928, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1946 to 1947. He graduated from Syracuse University 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. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...

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

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Generally considered a

Rockefeller Republican The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the 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 Vice President of ...

, 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, Cuomo previously served as ...

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 lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

'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. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

. Despite the fact that Marino's deputy and closest ally,

Jess J. Present Jess J. Present (July 28, 1921 – August 8, 1998) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born on July 28, 1921, in Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York. He attended Jamestown High School and Allegheny College. During World War ...

, 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 poli ...

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

189th 189th may refer to: *189th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *189th Airlift Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard that flies the C-130 Hercules *189th Airlift Wing, ...

, 190th and 191st New York State Legislatures, Marino resigned his Senate seat on February 8, 1995. He died on April 6, 2002, in Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York, of

tongue cancer Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless white patch, that thickens, develops red patches, an ulcer, and continues to grow. When on ...

. 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 20th-century American politicians Lawyers from Rochester, New York 20th-century American lawyers