Though Stoltzfus has found Currie hard to get to know personally, he recalls the few "heart-to-heart" conversations the two have shared, talks that forged his high regard for his colleague.
"I respect from where he's come," Stoltzfus said. "My heart is very touched by that and I respect his character that I think was meshed in that era."
Stoltzfus said he has also found Currie to be "extremely political," a "very strong Democrat" who's "very pro-black issues, but in a careful way."
Even so, Cecilia Januszkiewicz, who served as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s secretary of the Department of Budget and Management from June 2005 to January 2007, said Currie didn't let the fact that she represented a Republican administration obstruct their working relationship.
"He was not so partisan as to not engage in dialogue or to oppose things just because they weren't proposed by his own party," Januszkiewicz said. "I think he dealt with me openly and honestly."
She also appreciated that unlike some politicians who come to seats of power, Currie didn't abuse his.
"He hasn't let power go to his head," she said. "He was willing to listen to people [who] came before him, and he was open to changing his mind.
"Sometimes people who are in those positions forget that they serve the people, and I don't think that he did."
jill.rosen@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Bradley Olson and Gadi Dechter contributed to this article.
Ulysses Currie
Age: : 70
Occupation:: Retired educator
Political: : Prince George's County Democrat, Member of the Maryland Senate since 1995. Member of the House of Delegates from 1987 to 1995
Chairman of the Senate's Budget and Taxation Committee since 2002
Born:: Whiteville, N.C.
Education:: Bachelor's degree in social studies and history from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, 1959. Master's degree in education from the American University, 1968
Personal:: Married, with two sons
