Mark was raised in Cortland and graduated from Cortland High School. He earned graduate and post-graduate degrees in political science at the Universities of Rochester and Wisconsin respectively. He was an honors graduate at Rochester and an NDEA Title IV Scholar at Wisconsin. Mark graduated from the prestigious Fordham Law School in 1982, where he served as Associate Editor of the Law Review. Before returning home to Cortland with his wife Susan to raise their sons, Robby and Jesse, Mark gained valuable experience as an Assistant District Attorney in The Bronx, and later as an Assistant District Attorney in Onondaga County. For most of his legal career, he has focused on criminal law and has earned the reputation as an outstanding prosecutor and defense attorney. For nearly fifteen years, Mark has taught as an adjunct professor of Criminal Trial Practice at the Syracuse University School of Law. Clearly, Mark is well-regarded for his legal intellect and integrity.

A long time leader in the Cortland legal community, Mark is the current Cortland County Attorney and is currently president of the Cortland County Bar Association. He has formerly served as the Cortland City Corporation Counsel and Acting Cortland City Court Judge. Mark has a long history of active involvement in this community where his family is so deeply rooted. He is a member of the Cortland Elks Lodge, the Chamber of Commerce, the Cortland County Farm Bureau and the Cortland Rural Cemetery Board. In addition, Mark is a serious amateur musician, playing for many years with our Old Timers Civic Band, and various local jazz musicians. Mark is running for the office of District Attorney because he believes that our current District Attorney has simply failed us. The record proves it. As wonderful a place as Cortland is to live and raise a family, we are not immune to the realities of the world, which includes urban crime and drugs. Most of us here never experience those problems, we just read about them in the newspaper and hear about them on the radio. But it's real, and it's out there, and when it touches your life or a loved one, you want to know that the problem will be addressed quickly and properly. You NEED to know that. Mark is the right man at the right time for Cortland County. Now, more than ever, the office of District Attorney matters to each of us. Mark has the knowledge and the will to bring competence and good judgment back to this office, and peace of mind back to the people of Cortland. This time, it really matters.