For quite some time, Miami city Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has represented himself as the grandson of the late commercial radio and television pioneer “General” David Sarnoff.
The Russian-American media executive rose through the ranks of the Radio Corporation of America, holding the title of chairman for more than two decades until his retirement in 1970. As RCA’s president in 1939, David Sarnoff launched NBC, the nation’s first TV network. That’s a grandpa any ambitious tyke would love to call his own, and Marc Sarnoff has.
The thing is, the Sarnoff clan has no idea who Marc Sarnoff is.
The commissioner’s online bio states, “the ‘General’ David Sarnoff is also the grandfather of Marc David Sarnoff.... As his grandfather, he believes in establishing solutions for information, networking, and multimedia communications....” (As of today, the bio has been removed.)
This past October 16, as the guest of honor at an Urban Environment League dinner forum, the commissioner discussed his grandfather, though he didn’t have much to share regarding his parents’ splitup when he was eight years old.
“You won’t hear me speak much about the Sarnoff side of the family,” Sarnoff explained. “My grandfather died right around the time my parents were getting divorced. I do remember he would love to watch me go to swim meets when I was a young boy.”
Could it be the commissioner doesn’t have many memories of David Sarnoff because they are not really blood relatives? That’s what the man charged with preserving the media tycoon’s legacy says. Alex Magoun, executive director of the David Sarnoff Library in Princeton, New Jersey, insists Marc Sarnoff, who was born on December 18, 1959, is not one of David Sarnoff’s nine grandchildren.
“It is quite a puzzle,” Magoun says. “David Sarnoff had three sons, each of whom had three children of their own. None of them were born in 1959 and none of them are named Marc.”
So Riptide checked New York newspapers, Internet resources, and author Eugene Lyons’s 1966 tome David Sarnoff: A Biography to trace the commissioner’s genealogy, all of which confirm Magoun’s assertion that the commish is not one of those Sarnoffs.
On Monday, Sarnoff attempted to correct the record. David is his great-uncle, not his granddaddy. “I know very little about my family,” he said. “My understanding is that he is my great-uncle or something like that.”
David’s connection with the Sarnoff clan ended in 1969, when his father Joel divorced his mother, the commissioner added. “I don’t know my grandfather’s name,” Sarnoff replied when asked the identity of his paternal granddad. “I just remember he had big hands.”
David had three brothers and one sister: Irving, Lou, Morris, and Edie. None them had a son named Joel or a grandson named Marc, according to Paula Sarnoff, Irving’s 81-year-old daughter.
“I haven’t a clue who this man is,” she says of the commissioner. “He is certainly not David’s grandson, nephew, or otherwise. He is not related to us.” — Francisco Alvarado
Biography
“Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can”- David Sarnoff, (Father of Popular Mass Communications).
This is a quote from the “General” David Sarnoff, who is also the grandfather of Marc David Sarnoff, elected Commissioner of District 2, November 21, 2006.
Commissioner Sarnoff strives to live his philosophy and work ethic in all his pursuits particularly as they affect the quality of life issues, (poverty, safety, health, environment and energy), of his constituents of District 2 which include all the waterfront communities from West Grove north, Coconut Grove, Brickell, Downtown Miami, Edgewater, Morningside, Bayside, Belle Meade and Shorecrest .
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, he and his wife Teresa have been residents of Coconut Grove for over 20 years. He attended University of Tampa and graduated with honors with a BA in Criminology. He received a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law, and then continued his studies at Tulane University in the LLM program in Admiralty in Greece.
He now is an attorney specializing in Admiralty and Maritime Law with his firm Sarnoff and Bayer.
Commissioner Sarnoff is strongly committed to growing our economy through Water Resource Management including flood control and the protection of our natural resources, most importantly our wetlands, as well as the revitalization of the waterfront core.
He looks forward to leading initiatives which will expand Miami’s greening agenda, as well as its goals for urban revitalization and environmental sustainability, which will create a balance between the natural and built environments, encourage buildings of appropriate scale and engage residents and stakeholders in planning for and managing growth and change, which may include designing a pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented commercial district, providing new homeownership opportunities for a range of income groups, exploring the possibilities of public/private partnerships, and leveraging the impact of arts and cultural institutions to create an attractive urban environment.
He was President of the Center Grove Neighborhood Association, (now known as Village of Center Grove), which helped create Code 33, a program that promotes participating Grove merchants and restaurants by rewarding local residents in the 33133 zip code with discounts on purchases and meals. The program continues to thrive with more than 500 participants and 100 local merchants. He is the Co-founder of One Grove Alliance, which was created to unite all the Grove homeowners associations, and also served as the Chair of Coconut Grove Village Council, prior to his election to Commissioner. He was also Co-chair of the Village Council’s Tree Watch Committee to ensure the safety of precious tree canopy, particularly those damaged or depleted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
As his grandfather, he believes in establishing solutions for information, networking, and multimedia communications understanding that this helps to develop a more accessible government with connected, united and cultivated citizenry. He may be contacted directly at his office in City Hall at (305) 250-5333.
* The Commissioner will be running for re-election in November 2011.
Posted at: February 26, 2008 7:18 PM