William Donald Schaefer, Baltimore City Councilman, Mayor, Governor and later, Comptroller of Maryland, passed away at the age of 89. He had recently been in failing health, and briefly hospitalized for pneumonia, before his death at home in Baltimore's Charlestown Retirement Community.
Don Schaefer was an old school, New Deal Democrat, and the kind of politician whose name becomes inextricably tied to his district, city, and state. Schaefer was especially a Baltimore icon, and even as he eventually rose to the Governor's Mansion in Annapolis, he was still and always Mayor Schaefer to many Marylanders.
A lifelong bachelor, Schaefer lived much of his life with his elderly mother in their modest family home in Baltimore.
Don Schaefer was in politics for one reason: he loved Baltimore. He loved the spotlight, and occupied it at every opportunity for the good of his city. He had no interest in the high life, and his personal dignity was something to be meted out for the benefit of his city. One famous news photo, of Schaefer in a Gay 90s men's one piece swimsuit and straw boater, playing in the tank at the new aquarium, eventually was made into a bronze statue in his honor.
He was never afraid to piss off Republicans or Democrats, but he was a Democrat to the worn soles of his Thom McCanns. As mayor, his motto was "Do it now!", and under that rubric, he managed the revitalization of Baltimore, including it's shopping and tourism draw at the Inner Harbor, the Baltimore World Trade Center, and the Maryland Science Center. He was famous for putting a deadline of days and hours on the repair of any reported pothole.
William Donald Schaefer was a good Democrat - and as such, he was not a Democrat first, but a Baltimorean first.