Former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel Dies at Age 95

A former Maryland governor known for operational efficiency and personal scandal has passed away.

Marvin Mandel died Sunday at the age of 95 in St. Mary’s County.

He had heart problems, according to The Washington Post.

Mandel grew up in the Pimlico area of Baltimore on April 19, 1920. He graduated from the Baltimore City Public Schools before continuing his education at Baltimore City College, Johns Hopkins and ultimately the University of Maryland, where he received his law degree. The attorney went on to become a four-term member of the House of Delegates, serving from 1952 to 1969, representing the northwestern district.

He “always seemed to be...in the right place at the right time,” according to The Washington Post, which reported he took the place of a councilwoman in 1952 who quit.

Then, in 1969, the Maryland General Assembly chose Mandel for governor after Spiro Agnew resigned to become vice president to President Richard Nixon. Mandel was elected in 1970 and 1974 by Marylanders at the ballot box.

He oversaw the state’s acquisition of the Friendship Airport, which was updated and is now known as the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and restored Medicaid services to 22,000 people, The Washington Post reported.

The Democrat was credited with reorganizing state government into 12 executive departments; creating an agency to develop subway systems in Baltimore and D.C. suburbs; starting a school construction funding agency; and reshuffling the courts, introducing public defenders, according to the National Governors Association.

Mandel also helped establish the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

“No other governor has had the lasting impact on all three branches of Maryland government,” current Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said in a statement. ”And while he held elective office for 28 years, he dedicated his life to making our state a better place to live.”

Hogan ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff on Sunday, Aug. 30. “The state of Maryland lost not only a former governor but also a truly great leader and someone countless people thought of as a friend, including myself,” Hogan said.

Mandel was described as “one of the most colorful and consequential governors in his state’s history” by NBC, which reported he was once locked out of the governor’s mansion in Annapolis by his now ex-wife ”Bootsie,” whom he later left for another woman, and spent 19 months in federal prison for a mail fraud and racketeering conviction that the U.S. Court of Appeals later overturned.

He was convicted in 1977 and sentenced to serve four years. From May 1980 to December 1981, he served time at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida before President Ronald Reagan commuted his sentence to 18 months, according to the Maryland State Archives, which reported he served the rest of his time at a halfway house in Baltimore and ultimately, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1989.

“Marvin Mandel is a monumental figure in the history of our great state, and more importantly, he was fundamentally a good man and public servant,“ Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said in a statement.

Franchot said Mandel’s efforts to “modernize and streamline state government operations” established “Maryland’s longstanding reputation for sound fiscal stewardship.”

The comptroller added: “On a personal note, I will always treasure his gestures of friendship, whether it was spending an afternoon in my office discussing World War II with my father, offering sage advice or sharing one of his patented stories from days gone by.”

Mandel will be lying in state at the State House in Annapolis from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, coordinated by Sol Levinson & Bros., 8900 Reisterstown Road, in Pikesville. Interment will be at Lakemont Memorial Gardens in Davidsonville.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to ALS Association, 7507 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855.

Photos courtesy of Gov. Larry Hogan/Facebook.