The Examiner sat down with William Donald Schaefer, the irrepressible ex-mayor, ex-governor and current curmudgeonly comptroller. After mugging for the camera and jokingly upbraiding his staff, he discussed politics and was typically unrepentant about his record.
Q: Some people say your health has been so-so.
A: That?s a dirty lie. One good thing, I have good health. When you get as old as I am, good health is very, very important.
Q: You?re 84 years old; you?ve been in public life for 51 years. Why doesn?t Don Schaefer take it easy after 51 years?
A: Why doesn?t a person quit after five years? What?s the difference whether it?s 50 years, five years or 10 years; if your mind is strong, if your health is good, and you like your job and you work with compatible people, with very competent people? I have been lucky all my life ? from the time I was mayor, I?ve had great people.
Q: Which of your jobs did you like best?
A: There?s no job like mayor. Mayor made me the happiest man when I lived in that little house down there. Governor is nice in name, but to be a mayor you accomplish an awful lot. As governor, you?ve got statewide responsibilities, but if you?re mayor of a city, you know everything that goes on in the city, you know everything about it.
Q: You haven?t gotten along with your successors as mayor.
A: The only one I?m not very fond of is the present mayor. He?s a glamour boy. He?s so ambitious. A mayor to be a mayor is a mayor. He?s not a governor, he?s not a president of the United States; he?s not emperor of the world.
He has to have a desire to help the city ? really people-oriented, and not looking whether I?m going to be governor next year, president the year after that.
I didn?t like giving up being mayor. I?ve never been as happy in my life as when I was mayor.
Q: Do you regret that you ran for governor?
A: I don?t regret it. It was my turn to go out. You?re there for a certain length of time, then there?s time to leave. I didn?t want to be governor. Governor was the next step; it was the thing to do.
Q: What do you expect to do in the next four years?
A: I hope to run. I hope to win. I?m at the end of my term, life, all that good stuff. There?s no one more qualified than I am of the ones who are running now. They don?t have the passion.
Q: How did that conversation with Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens go, when she came in to tell you she was running for comptroller?
A: Surprised me. I almost fell out of my chair. She told me time after time after time after time. She went to the newspapers and said, “I?d never run against my friend.” Then she came in and sat down and said ? the tears came down ? she said, “I?m going to run.” I said, “Be my guest.” I was let down.
Q: You think you can beat her?
A: I don?t know. I never predict an election. If I?m the best, I?ll win.
Q: What about Peter Franchot (also running for comptroller)?
A: He?s not really a candidate. He?s not in this race. It?s Janet. He?s not a real threat. Peter was a good man. The worst thing in politics is when your friends turn on you. I?ve never been able to take that without getting hurt. I don?t understand it. Friends don?t do that to friends.
Q: Do you regret any of the controversial remarks you?ve made through the years?
A: That?s me ? that?s me. The Sunpaper and I have never gotten along. They?ll take some little incident and rev it into a big deal ? like looking at a girl walking. Isn?t that a big deal? Doesn?t that deserve headlines? That?s crazy.
Q: No regrets about anything over the years?
A: I hate to say it, but I?m good copy. Anything I can say that they can twist, twist it around and then make it look bad for me, they think that?s funny.
Q: Peter Franchot says he?s the real Democrat in the race. Have you ever thought about switching parties?
A: Never. I?m a Democrat. I?m a supporter of the Democratic Party. I pay my dues. What else does he got to say? He has done nothing in the legislature. Take a look at my record and his record. “He?s a real Democrat.” That?s a brilliantremark. I think it stinks.
Q: What about your friendship with Gov. Robert Ehrlich?
A: I like him. What do I care whether he?s a Republican or not? What?s he going to do for the state? Is he going to run a good state? That makes a big difference to me. I couldn?t work with [former Gov. Parris] Glendening. He was just too much. He really didn?t care. But this guy ? I?m not supposed to say this because he?s a Republican ? he?s a caring guy. I have nothing that I would say about him that?s bad, except he shouldn?t win. I should win.
Q: Do you think he can win re-election?
A: Oh yeah. But I also want to bring in that guy from Montgomery County [Doug Duncan]. There is a real good guy. He?s a real smart man. He?s low-key, he looks good, he is good. He ran a good county; he?s right on top of everything.
Q: Do you think he could beat Ehrlich?
A: I?m not going to speculate on that. You like ?em both. It?s terrible to choose up sides. But I?m a Democrat.
Q: What do you want to do in the next four years?
A: This office is the best-run office of any office that I know of. You can?t find one member of our Cabinet that I?ve replaced. They?re as honest as the day is long. There?s a lot of pride in there. The results have been good all along. We have good estimates. We know what we?re doing. All of them are professionals. Most of these people are Louie?s [former Comptroller Louis Goldstein] men. They have been here a long time.
Q: You?ve transformed the Board of Public Works as a way to have more influence over other aspects of state government. Correct?
A: Correct. I was governor and Louie sort of dominated the board, and I had to get out from under that. And then Glendening came in, and he and I just didn?t get along. He and I just didn?t see to eye to eye. I watched everything very carefully. This young fellow, I don?t worry about him putting me in the jackpot. I don?t look behind me to see if I?m getting a knife in the back. I trust him.
Q: Is there anything that people don?t know about you that they ought to?
A: I hope so.
Q: You don?t want to share that with our readers?
A: No. It?s been a good life.
William Donald Schaefer
» Age: 84, born in Baltimore, Nov. 2, 1921.
» Education: Baltimore City College; University of Baltimore School of Law, 1942
» Career: Baltimore City Council member, 1955-71; City Council president, 1967-71; mayor, 1971-86; governor, 1987-95; comptroller, 1999-present
» For fun: He goes to Ocean City (house in Montego Bay).
» Favorite restaurants: When he?s in O.C.: Dirty Harry?s diner in Fenwick, Del.; Phillips (“When I want to be classy”). In Baltimore: For breakfast, Jimmy?s; Kali?s Court, Fleming?s Prime Steak House.
» Favorite Books: Mysteries, and books about the wars: Vietnam, Korean, World War II
