J. Robert Hooper, the three-term state senator representing Harford County, plans to retire at the end of the year because of poor health.
Hooper, R-District 35, said Wednesday that his struggles with cancer and the rigors of the special session showed him he could no longer keep his old pace.
“In just the last two weeks, going back and forth between buildings and from one committee meeting to another, it just didn’t work,” Hooper said. “It would be unfair to my constituents in District 35 to give any less than 100 percent.”
When a legislator steps down, state law requires the governor to appoint a successor from the same party who is nominated by the local central committee.
For his part, Hooper said he prefers that Del. Barry Glassman, R-35, succeed him.
Mike Geppi, chairman of the Harford County Republican Central Committee, said the committee would accept resumes and conduct interviews under rules to be set Wednesday night.
“We don’t anticipate it taking a lot of time,” Geppi said. “Potential candidates should be ready to submit their applications and be ready for interviews fairly soon. We plan to be doing all the interviews and taking our vote in the same night.”
The Harford delegation’s last vacancy came when former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. appointed Del. Charles Boutin, R-34A, to the Public Service Commission in 2005. Sheryl Davis Kohl filled the seat.
Hooper has served as both a Democrat and a Republican, and Geppi called his sudden retirement a loss to the Republican Party.
“He had been a Democrat, but his views synced with ours time and time again,” Geppi said. “We welcomed him with open arms.”
“I am honored and humbled that Senator Hooper would ask me to try and fill his shoes,” Glassman said. “What a role model for me to have, what a goal to shoot for.”
