Louis P. Wein, 80, a savvy businessman, proud former Marine and devoted family man from Clifton who used a series of bids for public office to advance his bold visions for Staten Island and beyond, died Tuesday in Barnegat, N.J., where he had enjoyed retirement for the past eight years.
Mr. Wein liked to aim high as a third-party maverick. He vied for mayor against political giants Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch in his very first race in 1977 under the catchy yet candid campaign slogan, “Lou Who?”
He would later throw his hat in the ring for State Assembly, U.S. Senate and even governor, remaining an active political player through 2010 when he explored a run for Congress.
While each defeat stung, it seemed that for Mr. Wein, it was more about running than winning.
“He had big ideas, and even though he couldn’t get elected, he could win over converts to the ideas he was passionate about,” said longtime friend Frank Morano of Eltingville.
SERVICE TO COUNTRY
Louis Philip Wein was born on Aug. 27, 1941 in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan to Cuban natives Louis and Rosita Wein.
He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School, an all-boys Catholic school in the Bronx, where he was a champion swimmer in butterfly and freestyle. In 1959, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, inspired by his father, who served as a Marine during World War I.
Mr. Wein left the military seven years later to pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fordham University and a master’s degree in public administration from New York University.
He met his wife, the former Mary Ann Funicello of New Brighton, in a class at Fordham. They were married on Oct. 6, 1966 in the former Assumption R.C. Church in the bride’s home community and enjoyed a honeymoon to Canada.
The couple lived in the Park Hill apartment complex in Clifton before moving into a house just a few blocks away to accommodate a growing family that would include six children.
In 1983, Mr. Wein rejoined the Marine Corps and served as an officer for 17 years, attaining the rank of colonel. His final assignment was with the Joint Special Operations Command in Norfolk, Va.
His son, Joseph, enlisted in the Marines in 1989 and served four years in the first Gulf War, making the Weins a three-generation Marine family.
In between military service, Mr. Wein held a number of political appointments. He was an aide in 1970 for then-President Richard Nixon, specializing in civil preparedness and community relations; a New York City liaison in 1974 for then-President Gerald Ford, and in 1975, Mayor Abraham Beame’s director of federal relations and emergency preparedness.
Outspoken and unapologetic, Mr. Wein was terminated by the Beame administration after a report he wrote criticized the city’s inadequate preparations for natural emergencies and terrorist attacks.
BOLD IDEA FOR STAPLETON
As an entrepreneur and a visionary, Mr. Wein sought to repurpose the 35-acre home port in Stapleton when the Navy closed it down in 1994.
He waded tirelessly through bureaucracy to make HarbourFest, his proposal for a multimillion-dollar sports, recreation and retail complex, a reality and blamed politics when it was rejected by the city in 2000. Large parts of the home-port site remain vacant today.
In his political campaigns, Mr. Wein “was striving for a world that no longer existed,” his good friend Frank Morano explained. He opposed no-fault divorce, supported prayer in public schools and called for more power to the states and less to the federal government.
Running for office “was cultural as much as it was political,” Morano added. “Lou was more at home in the America of 1955. You don’t see his kind anymore; his passing signifies the end of an era.”
Mr. Wein held tight his convictions and never hesitated to speak his mind. In an October 1990 debate televised on C-Span, he sparred with fellow gubernatorial candidates Pierre Rinfret, Herbert London and incumbent Mario Cuomo.
“What’s needed is a total restructuring of our government that empowers the people of the state with recall, initiative and referendum,” Mr. Wein declared.
He took a bold stance on education that night.
“We have to bring discipline back into the classroom. That way we teach a child something important about moral values and have that reinforced in the home.”
He also proposed scrapping Regents testing, labeling it “meaningless.”
‘HE WAS ALL IN’
“My father never did anything halfway,” said Mr. Wein’s son, Joseph. “He was all in. It was always 100 percent.”
He was a rugged patriot, and was especially dedicated to his wife of 55 years and their family.
“He took an oath to protect and defend his country, and he carried it out to the day he died,” Joseph Wein added. “The only thing he loved more than the Marines was his family.”
“Lou was a larger-than-life figure whom I first met when he ran his ‘Lou Who’ campaign for mayor back in the ‘70s,” recalled District Attorney Michael McMahon.
“I was just a bar bus boy at Demyan’s Hofbrau and I remember his super strong handshake and bear-like half hug he applied as he rattled off 10 reasons he was going to win. He did not lack in confidence, and he had an effusive way of expressing an opinion on every topic.
“Yes, he was quixotic,” the district attorney continued, “but he also had an admirable passion for our country and Staten Island, an abiding faith in its democracy, and the election processes that underpin our republic. He was a fierce competitor but also a gentleman so you couldn’t get mad at him even if he ran against you, or at least threatened to.
“He was enormously proud of being a Marine and he embodied the Devil Dog spirit. But he first and foremost was a family man and he knew he was blessed, despite his occasional eccentricities, to have a magnificent and beautiful family. Judith and I wish them God’s strength and love to get through this difficult time.”
James P. Molinaro recalled Mr. Wein’s unwavering patriotism and his impact on Staten Island as a community leader. “He was very ambitious, and always sincere in what he believed in,” the former borough president said.
Assemblymember Michael J. Cusick expressed his condolences. “I am deeply saddened by the death of my friend, Lou Wein. I knew Lou for over 25 years, and he was a good man who loved his country and his community deeply. My thoughts are with his family.”
SURVIVORS AND ARRANGEMENTS In addition to his wife, Mary Ann, and son, Joseph, Mr. Wein is survived by another son, J. Andrew Wein; four daughters, Annemarie Shojai (Shervin), Mary D. Lauria (Douglas), Tonianne Delmar (John) and Alexis Thompson (David), and a twin sister, Diana McCarthy. A fifth daughter, Nancy, died in infancy, and a brother, Joel, died in 2018. He was a grandfather to Joseph, Nina, Emilie, Zahl, Kaveh, Elizabeth, Ayla, Sofia, Vivian and Marianne. The funeral is Saturday with an 11 a.m. Mass in Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church, Huguenot, followed by private cremation. Arrangements were handled by Matthew Funeral Home, Willowbrook.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Til Valhalla Project and the Wounded Warriors Project, both of which support veterans and their families.
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