Former state Sen. Tarky Lombardi Jr. dies at age 95

Syracuse, N.Y. – Tarky Lombardi Jr., a giant of Central New York politics who served 27 years in the state Senate where he helped fund major landmarks like the Carrier Dome, died Sunday at his home in Jamesville. He was 95.
Known by all simply as “Tarky,” Lombardi was a personable but hard-driving Republican who first won election to the state Senate in 1965, when Republicans held the majority. He served until 1992.
Lombardi chaired the Senate Health Committee for 18 years. Among his accomplishments was sponsoring the state’s Nursing Home without Walls program, which has been emulated by other states.
During his last three years in the Senate, Lombardi chaired the powerful Finance Committee. A champion of the arts, Lombardi also chaired the Senate Special Committee on the Arts.
Lombardi used his influence to win $15 million in state grants for construction of the Carrier Dome. He also won state funding for the Onondaga County Convention Center and Syracuse University’s Center for Science and Technology, among others.
At a retirement party in early 1993, Nick Pirro, then the county executive, gave Lombardi a small wooden barrel with “pork” written on the side.
“Tarky Lombardi Jr. has made his community a better place to live,” The Post-Standard editorial board declared when he retired from the Senate.
Pirro and Lombardi campaigned together in 1965 when Lombardi made his first run for state Senate and Pirro was trying to win his first term as a county legislator. Lombardi was an effective mentor, Pirro recalled Tuesday, advising him to give out potholders with his name on them.
“Pirro potholders” became Pirro’s signature campaign gimmick throughout his career.
Although he was known for bringing home state funding for major projects, Lombardi was equally regarded for constituent service, Pirro said. The senator kept regular office hours in Syracuse and tried to help all comers, Pirro said.
“He was always very successful because he paid strong attention to his constituents,” Pirro said. “He did a fantastic job in Albany. He was a real leader down there and got a lot of things done for the community.”
Lombardi has been out of the limelight for decades but has remained active in politics. He attended the Lincoln Republican Club clambake this summer in Liverpool, using a walker. The club honored him in April at a dinner at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, said Jim Albanese, president. Lombardi was a regular fixture this year at the club’s monthly meetings at Vito’s Ristorante.
“Whenever you said ‘the senator,’ everyone knew who you were talking about,” Albanese said.
At parties and political conventions, Lombardi made friends by taking snapshots of people and developing prints overnight to offer as gifts.
“I’ve developed some wonderful friendships through pictures,” Lombardi told the late Post-Standard columnist Dick Case in 1988. Lombardi had just shot a photo of the actor Charlton Heston at a state GOP caucus.
Lombardi graduated from Syracuse University law school in 1954. In 1966, he founded what is now the Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith law firm with Sidney Devorsetz, Francis Stinziano and Lynn Smith.
Lombardi and his brothers also established Syracuse Tank and Manufacturing Co.
Lombardi was the longest season ticket holder in Syracuse University football history. New coach Fran Brown recently delivered a football to Lombardi and thanked him.
“I promise you this,” the coach said in a video on the team’s Facebook page. “We are going to work extremely hard so you could be proud of us at the games.”
Lombardi started his political career in 1959 when he ran successfully for a seat on the Syracuse Common Council. He served six years before leaving for the state Senate.
John DeFrancisco, who won Lombardi’s Senate seat after the latter retired, said it was difficult to follow a veteran lawmaker with so much clout in Albany.
“As I got there, I realized how much he did and how respected he was,” said DeFrancisco, who went on to served 25 years in the Senate. “People just genuinely liked him.”
When Lombardi retired, DeFrancisco bought him a pair of “about size 18″ Syracuse University orange basketball sneakers.
“My argument was, it’s going to be tough shoes to fill,” he said.
Lombardi died from kidney complications, according to his obituary. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Marianne, and their five children.
Staff writer Michelle Breidenbach contributed to this report.
Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached at: email | Twitter | 315-470-3023.