Gladys Spellman
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Gladys Noon Spellman (March 1, 1918 – June 19, 1988), a Democrat, was a U.S. Congresswoman who represented the 5th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1981.
Spellman was born Gladys Blossom Noon in New York City and attended Eastern and Roosevelt high schools in Washington, D.C.. She graduated from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and graduate school with the United States Department of Agriculture. Spellman became a teacher, and taught in Prince George's County, Maryland schools. A consummate politician, Spellman was part of the wave of young, new suburban dwellers who moved to Prince George's County from Washington and elsewhere in the years after World War II, and that group remained her constituency throughout her political career.
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[edit] Teacher
Spellman's years as a teacher and president of the PTA for Happy Acres Elementary School (renamed in 1991 the Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School), as well as civic association activism as a young mother and housewife in Cheverly during the 1950s led to leadership positions in the reform movement that seized control of the county's government during the 1960s, ousting the old guard Democratic organization that had managed affairs in Prince George's for decades. Spellman was active in the fight for a home rule charter form of government for Prince George's, and in 1962, running on a reform slate, served as a member of the Prince Georges County Board of Commissioners from 1962 to 1970. She served two years as chairman, effectively the head of the county's government. After the establishment of the County Council, Spellman served as councilwoman at large from 1971 to 1974. She was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in 1967 and was awarded the highest honor that could be bestowed by county officials nationwide when she became the first woman elected president of the National Association of Counties in 1972.
[edit] Congress
Spellman easily won the Democratic primary nomination in September 1974 for Maryland's fifth congressional seat, and went on to defeat the Republican John B. Burcham, Jr. in the general election. While in Congress, she served on the Committee on Banking, Currency and Housing, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service (including serving as chairperson of the Subcommitte on Compensation of Employee Benefits). Almost 40 percent of the work force in her district was employed by the federal government — the highest percentage of any congressional district in the nation.
In 1977, Spellman favored legislation to establish a bank to make loans to cooperatives owned by consumers as well as legislation to extend the federal revenue-sharing program. She also voted for the 1975 proposal authorizing $7 billion to loan guarantees for the financially troubled New York City[1] Spellman also resisted placing restrictions on hiring or promotion of federal employees and opposed Jimmy Carter's plan to reform the civil service system in 1978.[1]
[edit] Coma, death and honors
On October 13, 1980, Spellman collapsed at a children's Halloween costume party after suffering an incapacitating heart attack. Spellman was re-elected to Congress a few days later in the November 1980 election, but it soon became clear that she would be comatose for the remaining years of her life, which ended on June 19, 1988. Spellman House Resolution 80 of the 97th Congress, adopted February 24, 1981, declared her seat vacant. Steny Hoyer was subsequently chosen in a special election to fill the vacancy.
In 1985, Spellman was an inductee to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. The Baltimore-Washington Parkway, a scenic north-south highway in Maryland, is dedicated to Spellman. Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School, located in Cheverly, Maryland, is dedicated to Spellman.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Women in Congress, 1917-1990 I. Submitted to Congress Mrs Lindy Boggs. Washington DC: Diane Publishing. ISBN 0-7881-4256-9
| Preceded by Lawrence Hogan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 5th congressional district January 3, 1975–January 3, 1981 |
Succeeded by Steny Hoyer |
| Representatives to the 94th–97th United States Congresses from Maryland | ||
|---|---|---|
| 94th | Senate: C. Mathias | J. Beall | House: C. Long | G. Gude | G. Byron | P. Mitchell | P. Sarbanes | M. Holt | R. Bauman | G. Spellman |
| 95th | Senate: C. Mathias | P. Sarbanes | House: C. Long | G. Byron | P. Mitchell | M. Holt | R. Bauman | G. Spellman | B. Mikulski | N. Steers |
| 96th | Senate: C. Mathias | P. Sarbanes | House: C. Long | P. Mitchell | M. Holt | R. Bauman | G. Spellman | B. Mikulski | M. Barnes | B. Byron |
| 97th | Senate: C. Mathias | P. Sarbanes | House: C. Long | P. Mitchell | M. Holt | G. Spellman | B. Mikulski | M. Barnes | B. Byron | R. Dyson |
