William Donald Schaefer, 89; Maryland governor, comptroller, Baltimore mayor

[hootinholler]

Source: WaPo Obit page

William Donald Schaefer, who dominated Maryland politics as governor, state comptroller and Baltimore mayor with a trademark style that was impatient, autocratic and sometimes offensive, died Monday of undisclosed causes at a retirement center in Catonsville, Md. He was 89.

As Baltimore mayor from 1971 to 1987, Mr. Schaefer gained national exposure as he revived the fading industrial city with massive cleanup and construction efforts. He transformed a riot-torn metropolis into the tourist-centered “Charm City” that included the Harborplace urban market and aquarium, as well as Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Mr. Schaefer was incapable of passing up any stunt to draw media attention to his city or himself. He famously turned a construction delay of the Baltimore aquarium in 1981 into a public relations win by plunging into the seal tank while wearing a Victorian-era swimsuit and holding a rubber duck.

Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/william-donald-schaefer-89-maryland-governor-comptroller-baltimore-mayor/2010/09/21/AFUyPa1D_story.html

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RIP Donald.

-Hoot

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Sounds like quite a character, very sad.

:(

[virgogal]

2. Camden Yards is a beautiful ballpark. RIP Mr. Schaefer.

[hootinholler]

3. A classic

And they saved the Eat-it-All warehouse.

It's really an amazing list of accomplishments.

-Hoot

[nyy1998]

6. Always wanted to visit, still the hallmark of any new ballpark and it's almost 20 years old nt

[Recursion]

4. Sad to hear that. Vale (nt)

[TygrBright]

5. When I lived on the Eastern Shore, Mr. Schaefer (Governor of MD)...

...declined to visit the Shore for some ceremonial occasion, referring to it as "an outhouse."

Curiously enough, while this raised enormous indignation at the time, by the time we left in 2005, ol' Willie Don was actually held in considerable affection by most Shore denizens.

Cranky old coot, attention whore, manipulator and dealmaker par excellence, never averse to a little underhanded arm-twisting, and with a tongue that made sandpaper look like silk, he was nevertheless one of the more effective (and approximately honest) Goobs Maryland has had in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Of course, if you look at the roster, that's not an ENORMOUS distinction... but it is a distinction.

I imagine the outhouse dwellers are raising many a glass to his memory, with jeers and cheers, tonight.

reminiscently,
Bright

[sofa king]

7. He used to like to insult his letter-writers.

Very Craig's List of him in an era when being such an asshole took much more time and effort. I for one will not miss his negative and narcissistic influence.