William Donald Schaefer doesn’t know what he’s going to do when he leaves the Maryland Comptroller’s office in January.
“Oh, I’ve given it no thought at all,” Schaefer said last Thursday morning at his office. “I can’t get it out of my mind that I’m not the comptroller anymore. I’ve been here so long and I like the job.”
And you really can’t blame the 85-year-old for not knowing.
For all but four of the past 50 years, he’s held some level of government office. He began as a member of the Baltimore City Council, then served as that city’s mayor and eventually went to Annapolis for eight years as governor.
Schaefer became well-known for a sense of fun — he once dove into a seal tank at Baltimore’s National Aquarium to celebrate its opening. He also drew attention for speaking honestly, but made comments some found offensive, including a February incident in which he asked a 24-year-old female aide for Gov. Robert Ehrlich to walk out of the room a second time so he could watch her.
Schaefer served two terms as comptroller before losing to Del. Peter Franchot in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary that saw Schaefer criticize fellow candidate and Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens on her personal appearance. Franchot will succeed Schaefer in about a month. The loss at the polls was the first for Schaefer in 50 years.
“It was my time to lose,” Schaefer said. “I shot my mouth off.”
He said he has little love for the incoming administration of governor-elect and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley. There will be, Schaefer said, no loaning O’Malley the admiral suit Schaefer donned almost 20 years ago when he left the Baltimore mayor’s office to start his firm term as governor in Annapolis. Schaefer said he helped raise a substantial amount of money for O’Malley only to have the mayor appear to forget about him.
“So we forgot about him, too,” Schaefer said.
His relationship with Ehrlich has been good, though, Schaefer said. When Ehrlich became governor, he restarted a decorative water fountain at Government House, the gubernatorial residence in Annapolis. The fountain had been installed by the late Hilda Mae Snoops, Schaefer’s companion and “official hostess” during his years as the state’s leader.
“He’s as honest as the day is long,” Schaefer said of Ehrlich. “This fellow, I never knew he was a Republican.”
Thursday morning, Schaefer’s thoughts returned to his early years on Baltimore’s City Council. He spoke of former fellow council members and people he had helped. His legacy was not yet a concern, Schaefer said. There was still work to do.
“Some of it I’ll remember,” Schaefer said of his time in office, “much of it I’ll forget. But it’s not time yet to sit and worry about what’s happened.”
