William Donald Schaefer

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William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer

58th Governor of Maryland
Preceded by Harry Hughes
Succeeded by Parris Glendening
Born November 2, 1921
Baltimore, Maryland
Political party Democratic
Spouse Hilda Mae Snoops (Companian)

William Donald Schaefer (born November 2, 1921) is an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. A Democrat, he was mayor of Baltimore from 1971 to 1987, the 58th Governor of Maryland from 1987 to 1995, and the Comptroller of Maryland from 1999 to 2007. On September 12, 2006, Schaefer was defeated in his reelection bid for Comptroller by Maryland Delegate Peter Franchot in the Democratic Primary.

Contents

[edit] Early life and career

Schaefer was born in Baltimore, Maryland to William Henry and Tululu Irene Schaefer, on Nov. 2, 1921. He received early education in Baltimore's public schools, and later graduated from Baltimore City College in 1939. Schaefer received a J.D. degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1942.

When the United States entered World War II, Schaefer joined the U.S. Army and achieved officer rank and took charge of administering hospitals in England and in the rest of Europe. He remained in the U.S. Army Reserves until 1979, when he retired with the rank of colonel.

Schaefer resumed his legal career afterwards, practicing real estate law. He earned a Master of Law degree in 1954 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and formed a general practice law firm with two colleagues. Except for his military service, he lived unmarried with his mother in two different very plain West Baltimore row-houses all his life, until moving to the Governor's Mansion at age 65.

His concern for city planning and housing issues propelled him to a seat representing the 5th District on the Baltimore City Council in 1955. In 1967, Schaefer ran successfully for Baltimore City Council president and, four years later, he ran successfully for the mayor's office. Schaefer served four terms as mayor, being re-elected in 1975, 1979 and 1983, each time receiving 85% or more of the vote. He was known for his attention to detail, taking notes of strewn garbage and other violations as he rode around, and ordering them fixed immediately. A famous photograph shows him dressed in an old-fashioned striped bathing suit, ready to dive into the dolphin pool at the then-new National Aquarium in Baltimore to settle a wager that it would not be opened in time.

Throughout his tenure as mayor, Schaefer constantly battled Robert Irsay, the owner of the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League. Irsay complained that Memorial Stadium, which the Colts shared with Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, was antiquated due to a lack of quality seats and inadequate parking. However, in early 1984, Schaefer extracted a promise from Irsay that the Colts owner would call Schaefer first before moving the team. However, in the early morning hours of March 29, 1984, Mayflower moving vans began relocating the Colts from the team's Owings Mills training facility to Indianapolis. Schaefer lamented that "[Irsay] didn't call his old friend, Don" before the move.

The Colts were not the first professional sports team to leave Baltimore on Schaefer's watch. In 1973, the Baltimore Bullets went down Interstate 95 to Landover, Maryland and were re-named the Capital Bullets, and later, the Washington Bullets. In 1997, the Bullets, now known as the Washington Wizards, moved out of Maryland completely and into downtown Washington, D.C. and the new MCI Center.

In his last years as mayor, and later during his two terms as governor, Schaefer led the push to build Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the Orioles and M&T Bank Stadium for a new NFL team, which came to fruition in 1996 when Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, where the team was re-christened the Baltimore Ravens.

[edit] Governor of Maryland

Schaefer, with running mate Melvin Steinberg, was overwhelmingly elected the 58th governor of Maryland in 1986, defeating Republican challenger Thomas J. Mooney with 82% of the vote, the largest percentage total ever for a contested statewide election in Maryland. He was re-elected in 1990 with almost 60% of the vote.

Schaefer's legacy includes the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, stricter measures taken against preventing and solving the Chesapeake Bay pollution problem, higher standards for public schools and higher tax rates. He retired from position as governor in 1995 after serving the maximum two terms.

Detractors remind the public that, in the winter of 1991, Gov. Schaefer compared Maryland's Eastern Shore to an outhouse (he referred to the region as a "shithouse"[1]). When the remark circulated, Eastern Shore residents erupted in protest, even hoisting wooden outhouses and bags of manure on their pickup trucks and heading for the governor's mansion.

[edit] Post-Governor life

Following his career as governor, Schaefer became Of Counsel to the law firm of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC, in Baltimore until 1999. The William Donald Schaefer Chair was established at University of Maryland, College Park's School of Public Affairs in 1995. Schaefer held the position until 1999, at which time the program was expanded to include funded internships.

Schaefer had a long-time companion in Hilda Mae Snoops, who was his "official hostess" in the Governor's mansion. She commissioned a controversial Victorian-style outdoor fountain and helped design a rose garden and walkways. The fountain is featured in her First Lady's portrait. After her death in 1999, it became a source of controversy as Schaefer accused his successor, Parris Glendening, of using it to get political revenge by turning it off, supposedly to save water even though it recycles existing water. Upon becoming Governor, Robert Ehrlich held a ceremony to turn the water back on in the fountain. Snoops is interred in the mausoleum at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, with an adjacent place reserved for Schaefer.

After losing in his 2006 campaign to be re-elected as Comptroller, Schaefer talked publicly of moving to Ocean City, Maryland, and running for Mayor.

[edit] Comptroller of Maryland

In 1998, after the death of longtime (forty years in office) Comptroller and Maryland political legend Louis Goldstein, Schaefer ran for the position of Comptroller of Maryland against Republican Mark Epstein. Schaefer won by a substantial margin, 62% to 38%. He came into the office in January of 1999. In 2002, Schaefer remained extremely popular in Maryland and received almost 68% of the vote in the general election.

Schaefer feuded frequently with Governor Parris Glendening at the bi-monthly Board of Public Works (BPW) meetings. Scaefer once called Glendening a "despot" and often chided him. Schaefer frequently referred to Glendening as "Ayatollah." Schaefer enjoyed considerably warmer relations with Governor Robert Ehrlich, the Republican who succeeded Glendening in January 2003.

[edit] Controversies

As Comptroller, Schaefer regularly spoke critically of immigrants who cannot communicate in English. He was particularly well known for his 2004 comment to a Spanish-speaking McDonald's cashier.[2]

Schaefer also stirred up controversy on October 12, 2004, when he called people with AIDS "a danger". He said said that those with the disease "brought it on themselves." Since the 1990s, he has repeatedly called for a public registry listing HIV-positive Maryland residents. "As far as I'm concerned, people who have AIDS are a danger," Schaefer said. "People should be able to know who has AIDS."[3]

On February 15, 2006, Schaefer made suggestive comments to Elizabeth Krum, a 24-year-old assistant to then Governor Robert Ehrlich. Responding to Schaefer's request for tea, Krum set a thermal mug in front of him. Schaefer watched her walk away, then beckoned for her to return. When she obliged, he told her, "Walk again," staring after her as she left the conference room. Schaefer initially refused to apologize, saying, "She's a pretty little girl. She ought to be damn happy that I observed her going out the door. The day I don't look at pretty women is the day I die." (Schaefer has long called the women with whom he works "little girls.") However, within hours of the leering incident Schaefer reversed himself and issued a handwritten apology to Ms. Krum.[4]

On July 5, 2006, Schaefer launched into a rambling commentary on immigration as the public works board considered a contract to provide testing services for the English as a Second Language (ESOL) program in Maryland schools. As state education officials tried to explain the contract, Schaefer demanded to know whether the program would benefit Korean students. "Korea's another one, all of a sudden they're our friends, too, shooting missiles at us," he said. Schaefer was referring to North Korea's test launch earlier that week of a long-range missile, which fell into the ocean. Schaefer refused to apologize for his comments after a meeting with South Korean community leaders.[5]

Also on July 5, 2006, when he was questioned by a female Baltimore Sun reporter about the ESOL program, Schaefer's response was to call her a "sweet little girl." And when asked if he would debate Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, a fellow Democratic candidate for comptroller, he said he "wouldn't debate her on how to bake a chocolate cake."[5]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign

See also: Maryland Comptroller election, 2006

Schaefer faced a competitive primary challenge for Comptroller in 2006. He was challenged by Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens and Delegate Peter Franchot (District 20). The campaign initially looked like a struggle between Schaefer and Owens. Starting third in a three person race, Franchot continued to move up as Schaefer and Owens continued to exchange damaging barbs.

On September 5, 2006, Schaefer told Marc Fisher, Washington Post columnist, that Janet Owens is a "prissy little miss" who wears "long dresses, looks like Mother Hubbard -- it's sort of like she was a man." He made additional comments that she was "getting fat." Later, in an on air interview with local news station News Channel 8, he further commented that "She's got these long clothes on and an old fashioned hairdo. You know it sort of makes you real mad".[6] On September 8, 2006, another local news station, WUSA9, showed an off-screen reporter asking him, "Did you call her an Old Mother Hubbard?" to which he responded, "Well, what does she look like? ... Old-fashioned hair-do; long dress ... If I lose or win - whatever I do - I'm gonna send her some Style magazines." His campaign called a press conference, but he failed to show. In the past, Owens has commented that perhaps Schaefer is too old to run, saying that running against him is like a granddaughter "taking the keys away from grandpa." In response, Schaefer and his campaign hinted that Owens was lashing out at him in an act of age discrimination. One viewer wrote in, suggesting that perhaps Schaefer was showing signs of dementia. The anchor responded that she pointed out "the elephant in the room" that, until then, the media was hesitant to suggest.[7] Schaefer refused to apologize for his comments regarding Owens' appearance, saying: "An apology? An apology for what? I can't help it how she looks." Asked about his heated exchanges with Owens, Schaefer said, "This was started not by me." He added, "There's dirty politics, and then there's filthy politics".[8]

On September 12, Schaefer and Owens were both defeated by Franchot on primary election day. Thus ended Schaefer's long career in elected office. The tight three-way race saw Franchot winning the DC suburbs (Montgomery County and Prince Georges County), Owens winning in central Maryland (Howard County and Anne Arundel County), and Schaefer holding his own in the Baltimore area (Baltimore City and Baltimore County). The three candidates finished in the following order: Franchot, Owens, and Schaefer. There were less than 15,000 votes between Franchot and Owens.[9] This was Schaefer's first campaign loss since 1955.

[edit] Building dedications

[edit] Sources

  • Maryland archives biography. [2]
  • Political Nomenclature: William Schaefer Doesn't Mince Words. [3]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Baltimore City Paper, "Ballot Stuffing", August 19, 1998.
  2. ^ Baltimore Sun, "Delayed fast-food order fodder for comptroller", May 6, 2004.
  3. ^ Washington Post, "Schaefer Faults AIDS Patients", October 13, 2004; Page B01.
  4. ^ Washington Post, "Schaefer Apologizes to Ehrlich Aide", February 18, 2006; Page B01.
  5. ^ a b Baltimore Sun, "Schaefer's words stir criticism", July 6, 2006.
  6. ^ Washington Post, "Owens Assails Schaefer's Remarks", September 6, 2006; Page B01.
  7. ^ WUSA9 News, Washington DC, "Comptroller Campaign Battle Of Barbs" Video, September 8, 2006.
  8. ^ Baltimore Sun, "Comptroller Race Takes on a Personal Tone", September 7, 2006.
  9. ^ NBC4 News, Washington DC, "Johnson Earns Democratic Nod For Prince George's Co. Exec.", September 12, 2006.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro III		 Mayor of Baltimore
1971–1987		 Succeeded by
Clarence H. Burns
Preceded by
Harry Hughes		 Governor of Maryland
1987–1995		 Succeeded by
Parris Glendening
Preceded by
Robert L. Swann		 Comptroller of Maryland
1999–2007		 Succeeded by
Peter Franchot


Governors of Maryland Maryland State Flag
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