Marlin gaining clout in Nassau politics
From left, George J. Marlin, Leonard D. Steinman, Ronald A. Stack, Thomas W. Stokes, and Evan Cohen attend a NIFA meeting about wages at the Marriott in Uniondale on March 24, 2011. Credit: Chris Ware
Trivia question: Which Long Islander has hurled sharply critical public comments at 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ex-Gov. George Pataki, ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, utility executive Richard Kessel, the late Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger -- AND local politicos from GOP chairman Joseph Mondello to ex-Conservative chairman Roger Bogsted?
Only one, it's safe to say: George Marlin, the chairman and chief executive of the Philadelphia Trust Co., a resident of New Hyde Park. He's been widely known in state and New York City Conservative Party circles for years. But never have the pointed statements of this 6-foot-6 author, blogger, admirer of the 16th century philosopher St. Thomas More and bond businessman rung quite so loud as in Nassau County politics.
His role as the most vocal member of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority in a period of severe cash crisis puts him in a bright spotlight -- to the visible dismay of the county's Republican regulars, who privately, and sometimes even publicly, call Marlin everything from an ideologue to a loose cannon.
For months, Marlin issued some of the most forceful and quotable warnings on Nassau's fiscal condition. He speaks on his own behalf.
But so far the thrust of his remarks has yet to be disputed, at least openly, by other NIFA members, who collectively control the county's finances. Thursday brought only the latest example.
"The county has exhibited delusions of fiscal balance," Marlin said at the end of a NIFA session. " . . . It is becoming apparent that the 2011 budget is a work of fiction." He warned of "fiscal chaos" without action, and urged the county to "recognize that governing entails more than finger-pointing, issuing rosy press releases, attending ribbon-cutting events and fireworks displays." Other members' remarks were different but not discordant.
In March, the fight between Marlin and County Executive Edward Mangano reached the point where County Attorney John Ciampoli, on Mangano's behalf, called Marlin a "hypocritical narcissist," and in an open letter, declared: "Mr. Marlin does not want cooperation. He wants capitulation. We will not be bullied by such a petty man who could never be elected to anything."
Ironically, it was only two years ago that Marlin came forward to support then-county executive candidate Mangano, a Republican. From inside the Conservative Party, he hammered away at then county chairman Bogsted's apparent alliance with incumbent Democrat Thomas Suozzi, for whom Bogsted was consumer affairs commissioner. Marlin and others called on Conservatives to vote for Mangano over Steve Hansen, a Bogsted aide. And, it proved to be a razor-close race.
But the fizzling of that alliance might not be a shock after all. In the 1990s, Marlin had at first expressed great hope for Pataki as governor. After serving for a time as his Port Authority director, Marlin became a critic of Pataki's government policies, even publishing a book about the administration titled "Squandered Opportunities."
Nor has Marlin as pundit shown any affection for the actions in office of former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, former Nassau legislative leader Bruce Blakeman or former County Executive Thomas Gulotta.
He tends to reserve his adulations for the likes of the late writers William F. Buckley Jr. and G.K. Chesterton, who by all accounts weren't fixtures in Mineola.
