Harry Hughes

When William Donald Schaefer was governor, the nicest thing you heard about his predecessor, Harry R. Hughes, was that his dog ruined the rugs in the Governor's Mansion.But with a new governor in Annapolis, it's Mr. Schaefer who is in the doghouse and Mr. Hughes who enjoys a warm welcome.Mr. Hughes has been named to the governing board of the University of Maryland System, while Mr. Schaefer can't get himself appointed to the board of a small rural college.Such is the topsy-turvy nature of politics in Maryland.

Patricia D. Hughes, who as Maryland's first lady actively supported women's causes, the arts and educational initiatives, was a key adviser to her husband, Gov. Harry Hughes, and led the way in an accurate historical restoration of Government House, died early Wednesday at her Denton home of Parkinson's disease. Mrs. Hughes was 79. "She was a wonderfully courageous lady who in recent years battled her health challenges with her husband by her side," Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday.

The State Highway Administration will dedicate its welcome center on Interstate 95 in Howard County to former Gov. Harry R. Hughes next week, honoring a longtime elected official who also was the state's first transportation secretary. Hughes, who is retired and lives in Denton, is expected to attend the ceremony Monday with current Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, Neil J. Pedersen, the state highway administrator, and current and former legislators. Hughes, an 81-year-old Democrat, was transportation secretary from 1970 to 1977 and governor from 1979 to 1987.

The State Highway Administration will dedicate its welcome center on Interstate 95 in Howard County to former Gov. Harry R. Hughes next week, honoring a longtime elected official who also was the state's first transportation secretary. Hughes, who is retired and lives in Denton, is expected to attend the ceremony Monday with current Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, Neil J. Pedersen, the state highway administrator, and current and former legislators. Hughes, an 81-year-old Democrat, was transportation secretary from 1970 to 1977 and governor from 1979 to 1987.

On mornings like this, the also-rans remember Harry Hughes and imagine his little piece of lightning striking them. The polls say Glendening and Bentley are winners next week, but those trailing the leaders embrace the sacred memory of Hughes, elected governor 16 autumns ago, who thus became Maryland's patron saint of political lost causes.A lost ball in high grass, Harry McGuirk famously called Hughes. People chuckled. A distant, hopeless loser, the pollsters said. Everybody who saw Hughes as bright and shiny after the Mandel years felt sorry for him: Such a nice young man. Such an embarrassment of a campaign.

Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley LLP, a large Philadelphia law firm, said yesterday that it has added five attorneys -- including former Gov. Harry R. Hughes -- to a one-lawyer practice in Baltimore.The hiring of Hughes and four other lawyers from the Baltimore office of Patton Boggs LLP leaves that high-profile Washington firm without any lawyers in Baltimore."Baltimore is an important market for our expanding regional and national practice," said David F. Girard-diCarlo, Blank Rome's managing partner.

On June 23, 2006, RICHARD LEE HUGHES, SR., of Street, MD; beloved husband of Lynette Hughes; devoted father of Richard Lee Hughes, Jr., and wife Michele Hughes and Donald Harry Hughes; loving son of Margaret Ledlich Hughes and the late Raymond Harry Hughes; brother of Raymond E. Hughes and his wife Joanna Hughes, Linda Ayres and her husband Arthur Ayres. Also survived by 11 nieces and nephews and 12 grand nieces and nephews. Services will be held at the family owned Mc Comas Funeral Home, P.A., in Abingdon, MD, on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 10:00 A.M. Interment will be in Darlington Cemetery, Darlington, MD. Friends may call at the funeral home in Abingdon on Monday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. Those who desire, may make contributions to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, VA. 23058.

IT'S BUSH league," said a caller on one of the then-budding, radio-talk shows."That stuff went out with horsehair sofas," said another.So it was a little bush, a little horse hairy, this posture The Evening Sun struck in the Spring of 1978. But in its bushy, hairy way it worked. It made a little history.The sniffy remarks were aimed at an editorial endorsing Harry Hughes for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Sniffs aside, Mr. Hughes was nominated and, that fall, elected by a record majority.

ROBERT S. JONES, III, age 71, of Lewes, DE, died Wednesday, December 1, 2004, at his residence. Mr. Jones was born January 22, 1933 in Baltimore, MD to the late Robert S. Jones, Jr. and Ida F. "Fritz" Jones. Mr. Jones was employed by Verizon for 42 years as an engineering assistant. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a member of American Legion Post #28 and AMVETS Post #2. He is survived by his wife Mary E. (Armsworthy) Jones; two daughters, Kathleen Law and Leslie Burgoyne; one son Stephen Jones; and three grandchildren, Courtney Law, Zachary Jones and Kyle Jones.

The autobiography of Harry R. Hughes, 57th governor of Maryland, is a testament to the power of media and image in modern America - and to the ability of one person to achieve profound change. Though he had made an extraordinary witness for integrity in government - resigning as state secretary of transportation to protest bid rigging - Mr. Hughes may be best remembered today for a description of the style he adopted in the governor's office. "Laid back" was the label du jour. It suggested a languid, devil-may-care approach to anything in life.

The autobiography of Harry R. Hughes, 57th governor of Maryland, is a testament to the power of media and image in modern America - and to the ability of one person to achieve profound change. Though he had made an extraordinary witness for integrity in government - resigning as state secretary of transportation to protest bid rigging - Mr. Hughes may be best remembered today for a description of the style he adopted in the governor's office. "Laid back" was the label du jour. It suggested a languid, devil-may-care approach to anything in life.

CENTREVILLE -- The living room of the headmaster's house at the Gunston Day School is tastefully furnished with wingback chairs and a grand piano. But when former Gov. Harry Hughes enters with his lunch on a recent visit, he takes the worst possible seat - a brown plastic folding chair, where he sits and delicately balances a plate on his knee. Someone asks why he didn't choose a more comfortable chair. "This one seemed fine," says Hughes, who will turn 80 next week and hasn't lost the air of modesty and decency that served him well over 30 years in public office.

On June 23, 2006, RICHARD LEE HUGHES, SR., of Street, MD; beloved husband of Lynette Hughes; devoted father of Richard Lee Hughes, Jr., and wife Michele Hughes and Donald Harry Hughes; loving son of Margaret Ledlich Hughes and the late Raymond Harry Hughes; brother of Raymond E. Hughes and his wife Joanna Hughes, Linda Ayres and her husband Arthur Ayres. Also survived by 11 nieces and nephews and 12 grand nieces and nephews. Services will be held at the family owned Mc Comas Funeral Home, P.A., in Abingdon, MD, on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 10:00 A.M. Interment will be in Darlington Cemetery, Darlington, MD. Friends may call at the funeral home in Abingdon on Monday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. Those who desire, may make contributions to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, VA. 23058.

ROBERT S. JONES, III, age 71, of Lewes, DE, died Wednesday, December 1, 2004, at his residence. Mr. Jones was born January 22, 1933 in Baltimore, MD to the late Robert S. Jones, Jr. and Ida F. "Fritz" Jones. Mr. Jones was employed by Verizon for 42 years as an engineering assistant. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a member of American Legion Post #28 and AMVETS Post #2. He is survived by his wife Mary E. (Armsworthy) Jones; two daughters, Kathleen Law and Leslie Burgoyne; one son Stephen Jones; and three grandchildren, Courtney Law, Zachary Jones and Kyle Jones.

Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley LLP, a large Philadelphia law firm, said yesterday that it has added five attorneys -- including former Gov. Harry R. Hughes -- to a one-lawyer practice in Baltimore.The hiring of Hughes and four other lawyers from the Baltimore office of Patton Boggs LLP leaves that high-profile Washington firm without any lawyers in Baltimore."Baltimore is an important market for our expanding regional and national practice," said David F. Girard-diCarlo, Blank Rome's managing partner.

THE LATE HARRY "Soft Shoes" McGuirk might have called him Diamond Jim in the political rough.The political ruminations of Maryland's former economic development boss, James T. Brady, remind many of 1978, when Harry R. Hughes rose from obscurity to victory by near acclamation. In the midst of a gubernatorial campaign which seems somnolent, Brady's water-testing this year is provocative.It was Senator McGuirk of the Stonewall Democratic Club in Baltimore who, in 1978, called Hughes a lost ball in tall grass.

Havre de Grace. -- Harry Hughes, said the late Harry J. McGuirk rather smugly just about 16 years ago, ''is a lost ball in the high grass.'' It was a fine phrase, and Mr. McGuirk savored it. It was fine when he said it because it was both cruel and true, but it's only memorable now because its truth had such a short life.In 1978, Harry Hughes was running for governor in the Democratic primary much the way American Joe Miedusiewski began his campaign this year. He knew he didn't have a chance, but he had some things he wanted to say that weren't getting said, and he thought some of the voters might appreciate a little more variety on the ballot.

SHE IS A DECIDED underdog, written off by one analyst as a ''lost-cause'' candidate. Yet Eileen M. Rehrmann has the credentials to pull off the unexpected.Marylanders like an occasional underdog. In 1978, Harry Hughes, dismissed as a ''lost ball in high grass,'' pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic primary for governor. Republican voters in 1994 turned a surprising thumbs-down on heavily favored Rep. Helen Bentley and picked the lesser-known Ellen Sauerbrey, who then nearly won the governorship.

Some way to celebrate the city's 200thTo honor the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Baltimore, our mayor has closed the Baltimore City Life Museums, two Pratt Library branches and several recreation centers.What an innovative way to celebrate!We might even make it into the Guinness Book of Records.And all of this is happening in a year when, according to a Sun editorial Sept. 19, city tax collections are ''way up.'' It boggles the mind.Margaret H. YaffeBaltimoreSome 'precedent' for public employeesPeter Jay, in his column of Sept.