George Maragos

George Maragos
George Maragos attends a wreath laying ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
13th Comptroller of Nassau County
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2010
Preceded by	Howard Weitzman
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-17) March 17, 1949
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Angela Maragos ​ (m. 1973)​
Children	Peter (b. 1976) Angelo (b. 1985)
Residence	Nassau County, New York
Alma mater	McGill University (B.E.E.) Pace University (M.B.A.)

George Maragos is the 13th Comptroller of Nassau County, New York. He defeated two-term incumbent Howard Weitzman twice for Nassau County Comptroller, the first as a challenger on November 3, 2009 and again as an incumbent for re-election on November 5, 2013.

Education

Maragos received an M.B.A in 1983 from Pace University in New York City. As an undergraduate, Maragos studied electrical engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Canada earning a B.E.E. in 1973.

Early career

Maragos' career started at Bell-Northern Research where he became one of the youngest managers in the global technology organization. In 1978, Maragos joined Booz Allen Hamilton in New York to work on U.S. Military Defense Command and Control Systems - requiring security clearances from the U.S. government. Maragos later became an Associate and was assigned to manage Information Technology solutions for major multi-national commercial clients.

In 1981, Maragos joined Chase Manhattan Bank to lead a team charged with building the organization's international data and money transfer network. He was later promoted to Vice President. In 1986, Maragos joined Citibank as Vice President and Director of North American Treasury and Telecommunications Systems.

In 1989, Maragos founded his own business, SDS Financial Technologies, and served as President and C.E.O. for over 20 years until his election as Nassau County Comptroller in 2009.

County Comptroller

Maragos was elected as Nassau County Comptroller in 2009, and started his service in January 2010. He was then re-elected to a second term that started in January 2014.

Long Island Bus Study

Comptroller George Maragos at the Nassau County Legislature testimony on the privatization of Long Island Bus in 2011.

In November 2010, Maragos released a study concerning the proposed privatization of Long Island Bus after over 35 years. The report recommended that the best option for the County was to negotiate with the MTA to continue with the current service, with a more equitable subsidy. The MTA should first decrease the LIBS operating expense by about 4%, so that no increase in subsidies is required for 2011 by either the MTA or the County. If an increase is necessary, then both the County and the MTA should proportionately increase their subsidies in order to keep the LIBS running. However, if negotiations fail and the County is forced to contribute the full subsidy demanded by the MTA of over $36 million for 2011, then Comptroller Maragos ultimately recommend that privatization be pursued.

Parking Ticket Audit

In early 2011, Comptroller Maragos released an audit of the Nassau County Traffic & Parking Violations Agency, which showed that as of December 31, 2010 the Agency had $44 million in uncollected traffic violation fines dating back 10 years and $26 million in uncollected parking violations in the last six years with Red Light Camera past due tickets estimated at over $10 million alone as of December 31, 2011.

Innovation

First Comptroller Nationwide to Post Public Contracts online using Social Media: In January 2014, Comptroller Maragos started releasing the vendor names, contract amounts and brief summaries of public contracts to social media via Facebook. This is considered to be the first time nationwide that public contracts have been released to the public in such a manner.

Awards

Comptroller Maragos has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for 3 consecutive years (2010-2012).

Candidacy for United States Senate in 2012

Main article: United States Senate election in New York, 2012

George Maragos and wife Angela in 2012.

Maragos faced Congressman Bob Turner, and attorney Wendy E. Long in a primary election to face Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The 2012 New York State Republican convention split the endorsement between the three candidates, with enough support for each candidate to automatically appear on the ballot. The primary occurred June 26, 2012 and the general election will coincide with the presidential election on November 2 Maragos was unable to get name recognition outside of Nassau County and ultimately was defeated and came in last place, 2012.

Political views

Maragos said he supports raising the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, cutting subsidies for oil companies, and bringing home the troops, which would save $200 billion per year he would reinvest in "rebuilding America."

As part of his plan to create jobs, Maragos would simplify the tax code, removing tax breaks for special interests. He would replace them with incentives for new manufacturing and green jobs, such as "almost no taxation."

He would vote to repeal the health care law, which he said is destroying jobs and raising costs for local governments, and enforce intellectual property rights laws by prosecuting manufacturers who sell goods in the U.S. that violate those laws.

"It's amazing to me that we are treating China like it's a Third World country," he said. "We need to stand up and protect our workers and our jobs."

Maragos would like to see the United States declare energy independence within a decade, using "primarily" renewable resources.

"I think we have to have a debate about nuclear [energy]," he said.

He said he believes in evolution but thinks the jury is still out on global warming. He said marriage is between a man and a woman, but respects the recently passed Marriage Equality Act.

"Some people would even like to marry with their pets," he said, worried that the legalization of gay marriage could also lead to the legalization of polygamy.

He is against abortion, except to preserve the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest.

Personal

Maragos has been married for 41 years to Angela and has two sons, Peter and Angelo, and two grandchildren.

External links

• Official Website of the Nassau County Comptroller's Office