Remembering William Donald Schaefer

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Much has been written about William Donald Schaefer since his death Monday. Here are some stories and blog posts on Baltimore’s former mayor and Maryland’s former governor and comptroller that, if you haven’t already seen, would be worth your time.

Esquire Magazine has posted Richard Ben Cramer’s classic profile of then Mayor Schaefer, published in October 1984. The magazine’s editors say there were inspired to post the story online — “in its entirety for the first time” — after getting requests in the Twitterverse from various big-name political writers. Cramer’s story is filled with vivid set pieces and insightful analysis of what drove the man. Among them: “You don’t need a charming, wavy-haired talker for a mayor. You need the toughest, canniest, most obsessive sonofabitch in town. You need someone who’s going to make it his life.”

Josh Kurtz, a longtime chronicler of Maryland politics, offers his own unique perspective at Center Maryland on Schaefer’s legacy. Kurtz, who for years covered the State House for The Gazette newspapers in the D.C. suburbs, pays tribute to Schaefer’s career in public service. He also writes of the shifting spheres of influence in Annapolis, and how those shifts have occurred over time at Baltimore’s expense, and how Schaefer and his loyalists handled the changing balance of power.

The Baltimore Business Journal has reaction from local business leaders on Schaefer’s influence in shaping the city. H&S Bakery’s John Paterakis shares a revealing anecdote on the early machinations behind what would become Harbor East.

Anyone who’s been asked by a demanding boss to “do it now!” can appreciate the recollections of Robert L. Di Stefano, a retired Baltimore police major who writes in a letter to the Sun of his days as a commanding officer under Schaefer. Sun sports columnist Peter Schmuck, meanwhile, assesses Schaefer’s impact on Baltimore as a sports town, and Jay Hancock writes of Schaefer’s ongoing dialogue with Maryland businesses, unique as it was.

Former Sun reporter and editor David Ettlin offers his own remembrance of Schaefer at his blog, The Real Muck. It includes a very funny run-in with the then mayor over an apparent City Hall leak of a story.

Doug Birch, who covered Schaefer in City Hall and Annapolis, bids him a fond farewell in the Baltimore Brew. “My tormentor, my nemesis, my exasperating tutor” the post is titled.

The New York Times obituary on Schaefer concludes with this passage:

When he lost his re-election bid [for comptroller] in 2006, Mr. Schaefer was asked how he would like to be remembered. “There are two words,” he said. “ ‘He cared.’ People mock me and make fun of it. But it’s the truth.”