Marc Molinaro

Marcus J. Molinaro (born October 8, 1975) is an American politician serving his third term as county executive of Dutchess County, New York. A Republican, Molinaro was a member of the Dutchess County Legislature and the New York State Assembly before being elected county executive for the first time in 2011. He was re-elected county executive in 2015 and 2019. Molinaro is also a former mayor of Tivoli, New York; when he became mayor at age 19, he was the youngest mayor in the United States.

Marc Molinaro
Executive of Dutchess County
Assumed office
January 1, 2012
Preceded byWilliam Steinhaus
Member of the New York Assembly
from the 103rd district
In office
January 1, 2007 – December 31, 2011
Preceded byPatrick Manning
Succeeded byDidi Barrett
Member of the Dutchess County Legislature
In office
January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2006
Preceded byFrances Mark
Succeeded byDavid Seymour
Personal details
Born (1975-10-08) October 8, 1975[1]
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationDutchess Community College

Molinaro was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2018, but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo.

Early life

Molinaro was born in Yonkers, New York[2] to Anthony Molinaro[3] and Dona Vananden.[4] Following his parents' divorce, he and his mother moved to Beacon, New York, in 1980[5][2] and to Tivoli, New York, in 1989.[2] Molinaro's mother struggled financially, and the family received food stamps.[5] Molinaro graduated from Dutchess Community College in 2001.[2]

Political career

Molinaro was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, when he was elected to the Village of Tivoli's Board of Trustees.[2] In 1995, he became the youngest mayor in the United States when he was elected Mayor of Tivoli.[6][7] Molinaro was re-elected mayor five times, and he also served in the Dutchess County Legislature.[2]

New York State Assembly

In 2006, Molinaro was elected to represent the 103rd District in the New York State Assembly.[8] Molinaro served in the Assembly until 2011. In January 2011, at the recommendation of Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Molinaro to serve on the Governor's Mandate Relief Redesign Team.[9]

Dutchess County Executive

Molinaro announced his bid to succeed twenty-year Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus in May 2011. The campaign was endorsed by the county's Republican, Conservative, and Independence parties. On June 3, Beekman supervisor Dan French was nominated as the Assemblyman's Democratic challenger. Molinaro prevailed on November 8, 2011 with 62% of the vote.[10] Molinaro was sworn into office on January 1, 2012. In 2015, Molinaro was re-elected to a second term, defeating Democratic challenger Diane Jablonski[11] by a margin of 30,181 votes to 17,539 votes.[12] Molinaro won a third term in 2019, defeating Democrat Joseph Ruggiero,[13] 41,285 votes to 29,293.[14]

In 2014, Molinaro was awarded the Pace University Land Use Law Center’s Groundbreaker’s Award.[2] As County Executive, Molinaro spearheaded a 2015 initiative called "Think Differently" for people with disabilities; he also appointed a Deputy Commissioner of Special Needs in 2016.[6] In 2015, Molinaro was elected Second Vice President of the New York State Association of Counties.[2]

2018 gubernatorial election
Main article: 2018 New York gubernatorial election

In March 2018, Molinaro informed Republican leaders that he would run for Governor of New York in the 2018 election.[15] Molinaro announced his candidacy on April 2, 2018 and was endorsed by the New York Conservative Party on April 13.[16][17] On May 23, 2018, the Republican Party unanimously nominated Molinaro as its candidate for Governor of New York at its state convention, three days after the Reform Party endorsed Molinaro for their gubernatorial ticket.[18][19] Molinaro's running mate was Julie Killian, a former Rye City Councilwoman and State Senate candidate.[20] While he was described as a moderate during the campaign,[21][22][23] Molinaro said in a March 2018 interview that he considered himself a communitarian.[24]

Molinaro was defeated by incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 gubernatorial election,[25] garnering 36% of the vote.[26]

Personal life

Molinaro and his wife, Corinne Adams, reside in Red Hook, New York.[27] Molinaro had two children with his first wife;[28] as of 2020, Molinaro has a total of four children.[29] Molinaro's daughter, Abigail, is on the autism spectrum.[28]

Molinaro's father, Anthony Molinaro, died from COVID-19 on April 10, 2020.[30]

Electoral history
New York gubernatorial election, 2018[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Andrew Cuomo 3,424,416 56.16% +8.64%
Working Families Andrew Cuomo 114,478 1.88% -1.43%
Independence Andrew Cuomo 68,713 1.13% -0.91%
Women's Equality Andrew Cuomo 27,733 0.45% -0.96%
Total Andrew Cuomo (incumbent) 3,635,340 59.62% +5.43%
Republican Marc Molinaro 1,926,485 31.60% -0.79%
Conservative Marc Molinaro 253,624 4.16% -2.41%
Reform Marc Molinaro 27,493 0.45% N/A
Total Marc Molinaro 2,207,602 36.21% -4.10%
Green Howie Hawkins 103,946 1.70% -3.14%
Libertarian Larry Sharpe 95,033 1.56% +1.12%
SAM Stephanie Miner 55,441 0.91% N/A
Total votes 6,097,362 100.0% N/A

References
  1. "Marc Molinaro on Twitter". Twitter.
  2. Barry, John (April 2, 2018). "Marc Molinaro: A Timeline of his career". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  3. Arbetter, Susan (April 17, 2020). "Marc Molinaro Speaks Openly on the Loss of His Father Anthony Molinaro". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  4. Campbell, Jon. "Marc Molinaro: From teenage mayor to taking on Gov. Andrew Cuomo". Democrat and Chronicle.
  5. Precious, Tom. "Marc Molinaro: from teen mayor to (he hopes) Republican governor". The Buffalo News.
  6. Segers, Grace (April 3, 2018). "5 things to know about Marcus Molinaro". City & State New York. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  7. McKinley, Jesse (April 2, 2018). "A Republican With Small-Town Roots Launches Bid for Governor" – via NYTimes.com.
  8. De Avila, Joseph (May 23, 2018). "New York Republicans Nominate Dutchess County's Marc Molinaro for Governor". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  9. "Governor Cuomo Announces Members Of The Mandate Relief Redesign Team". Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  10. "DUTCHESS COUNTY EXECUTIVE RESULTS: Molinaro beats French handily". Dailyfreeman.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  11. Ferro, John (November 3, 2015). "Molinaro wins reelection as DC executive". Dailyfreeman.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  12. "2015 Dutchess County Election Results" (PDF).
  13. "Molinaro Wins Re-Election As Dutchess County Executive". Mid Hudson Valley, NY Patch. November 6, 2019.
  14. "2019 Dutchess County Election Results" (PDF).
  15. "Molinaro tells more GOP leaders he's running for NY governor". NorthCountryPublicRadio.org. March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  16. John W. Barry and Joseph Spector (April 2, 2018). "Marc Molinaro: Candidate for governor cites "rendezvous with destiny"". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  17. Lovett, Kenneth. "NYS Conservative Party leaders back Molinaro for governor - NY Daily News". Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  18. Blain, Glenn. "Marcus Molinaro accepts New York GOP nomination for governor - NY Daily News". Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  19. Vielkind, Jimmy (May 20, 2018). "Reform Party nominates Molinaro, backs Bharara for attorney general". Politico. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  20. Lovett, Ken (May 20, 2018). "Marcus Molinaro picks ex-Senate candidate Julie Killian to be running mate". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  21. Klepper, David (October 24, 2018). "Molinaro Looks to Buck Blue Wave, Topple Cuomo in NY". USNews.com.
  22. "Molinaro running for governor as 'ordinary NYer'". Newsday.
  23. Foderaro, Lisa W. (May 23, 2018). "Republicans Choose Their Alternative to Gov. Cuomo: Marcus Molinaro" – via NYTimes.com.
  24. Max, Ben. "In Run for Governor, Marc Molinaro Will Make a Character Argument". Gotham Gazette.
  25. "Live map: 2018 midterm elections results". Axios. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  26. "2018 New York State Election Results" (PDF). Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  27. "County Executive Marc Molinaro, Wife Corinne Welcome Baby Boy". Northwest Dutchess Daily Voice. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  28. Campbell, Jon. "Marc Molinaro: From teenage mayor to taking on Gov. Andrew Cuomo". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
  29. "Marcus J. Molinaro - Biography". www.dutchessny.gov.
  30. Martelli, A. J. "Marc Molinaro's father dies of COVID-19, remembered as 'good man'". Poughkeepsie Journal.
New York State Assembly
Preceded by
Patrick Manning		 Member of the New York Assembly
from the 103rd district
2007–2011		 Succeeded by
Didi Barrett
Political offices
Preceded by
William Steinhaus		 Executive of Dutchess County
2012–present		 Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Rob Astorino		 Republican nominee for Governor of New York
2018		 Most recent
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