Mark J. Green

Mark J. Green is a public interest author and lawyer, and a politician who lives in New York City. He has authored (or edited) at least 16 books. Two of his books have focused on Campaign Finance, its checkered history and perennial problems. These are the million-copy bestseller Who Runs Congress? (1972) and what may be considered as its sequel, Selling Out; How Big Corporate Money Buys Elections, Rams through Legislation, and Betrays Our Democracy (2002). He has also written 250 magazine articles. He has appeared hundreds of times on CNN's Crossfire debating Pat Buchanan or Bob Novak and on PBS's Firing Line debating William F. Buckley.

Timeline

1945: born March 15 in Maimonides Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. He lived for his first years in Bensonhurst, at Bay Parkway and 61st Street. Mark's mother was a teacher in the New York City public schools before staying home to raise Mark and his brother, Steve. His father worked his way through New York Law School. He is proud of his Jewish heritage. His grandparents fled to New York City from Czarist Russia and Poland. Morris, his maternal grandfather, was a plumber (his 1915 plumber's license hangs on Mark's office wall to remind him whom our government is to serve and where he came from) and Nathan, his paternal grandfather, worked in the New York City garment center.

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1945 - Brooklyn

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1963: Graduated from South High School

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1967: Graduated from Cornell University. As a college student he was inspired by Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King with the idea that one person can improve his community and society.

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1967 - Cornell University

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1970: Graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. He was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

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1970 - Harvard Law School

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1970 - 1980: Making good on his goal of becoming a public interest lawyer, he spent 10 years in Washington, D.C. writing books, as lawyer and one of one of "Nader's Raiders" at Ralph Nader's Public Citizen, pressing Congress on consumer, environmental and health issues, and working on a suit gainst the Nixon administration.

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1970 - 1980 - Washington, D.C. - Ralph Nader - Public Citizen

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1972: Who Runs Congress? published, a million-copy bestseller on campaign finance.

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1977: met and married Deni Frand, who has served as director of the New York City office of People for the American Way and as a Vice President in corporate philanthropy at AOL-Time Warner. They have two children, Jenya, who graduated from Mark's alma mater Cornell, and Jonah.

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1977 - People for the American Way

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1981: founded and ran the Democracy Project, a public policy institute in New York City.

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1981 - Democracy Project

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1982: The Nation magazine said, "Next to Nader himself, Mark is the leading public interest lawyer of his generation."

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1984: Senator Gary Hart's chief speechwriter for presidential campaign.

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1986: Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Senator Al D'Amato.

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1990 - 1993: appointed by Mayor David Dinkins as Consumer Affairs Commissioner of New York City.

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1990 - 1993 - David Dinkins

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1993: Elected as New York City's first Public Advocate with 60% of the vote.

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1995: The Consumer Bible published (Workman Publishing).

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1997: Re-elected as Public Advocate with 73% of the vote.

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2001: Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City, losing to Michael Bloomberg.

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2001 - Mayor - Michael Bloomberg

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2002: Selling Out; How Big Corporate Money Buys Elections, Rams through Legislation, and Betrays Our Democracy published, Regan Books (Harper Collins) ISBN 0-06-052392-1. Campaign Finance Reform's checkered history and perennial problems and what may be considered the sequel to Who Runs Congress?.

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2004: New York co-chairperson of John Kerry's presidential campaign.

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2004 - John Kerry

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2006: Expected to run for the Democratic nomination for New York state Attorney General, when incumbent Eliot Spitzer will vacate the office in order to run for Governor.

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Attorney General - Eliot Spitzer - Governor

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