Marks, Marc Lincoln, 1927-2018

Marc Lincoln Marks (February 12, 1927 – February 28, 2018) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 24th congressional district from 1977 to 1983.

Born in Farrell, Pennsylvania, he attended the public schools there and in the nearby city of Sharon, Pennsylvania before serving in the United States Army Air Corps from 1945 to 1946. He then earned a B.A. degree from the University of Alabama and a LL.B. from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1955 and commenced practice in Farrell, serving as Mercer County Solicitor (district attorney) from 1960 to 1966.

In the 1976 United States House of Representatives Elections, Marks defeated the Pennsylvania six-term Democratic incumbent Joseph Vigorito with an 11% margin, one of eight Democrats unseated nationwide. He defeated Vigorito again in the 1978 election with a 26% margin, and state Representative David C. DiCarlo in 1980 by 120 votes. A serious back ailment led him to not seek re-election for a fourth term in 1982. This decision prompted a speech to the House of Representatives in March 1982, before House Speaker Tip O'Neill, in which he brought into question his own support of Reaganite policies, that, he argued, had an undue emphasis on military spending, and had caused distress to those to whom he defined as "disadvantaged". Prior to leaving Congress, John B. Connally talked to Marks and considered him as a running mate, during Connally's failed 1980 Presidential bid.

In a letter to Time magazine he defended his position in voting for contempt proceedings against James G. Watt, Secretary of the Interior. His letter to the New York Times criticized what he saw as the newspaper's editorial board's irresponsibility in criticizing public officials, and apparent lack of knowledge of the plight of unemployed citizens. In 1994, Bill Clinton nominated Marks as Commissioner of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. He died in Chevy Chase, Maryland.