Governor of Maryland
Schaefer, with running mate Melvin Steinberg, was overwhelmingly elected the 58th governor of Maryland in 1986, defeating Republican challenger Thomas J. Mooney with 82% of the vote, the largest percentage total ever for a contested statewide election in Maryland. He was re-elected in 1990 with almost 60% of the vote. Immediately upon taking office, Schaefer sought to take on the state's problems regarding unemployment. After learning of a proposed closing of a major corporation in western Maryland, he personally went to Allegany County with his top advisors and the Maryland Congressional delegation and devised a plan of state and federal action to meet the needs of the faltering company. The corporation kept headquarters in Allegany County, saving 600 jobs. Schaefer's legacy includes the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, stricter measures taken against preventing and solving the Chesapeake Bay pollution problem, and higher standards for public schools.
Schaefer as governor also pushed for the light rail line of electric trains that run 30 miles from Hunt Valley in Baltimore County, through Baltimore, past Oriole Park at Camden Yards, to Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie in Anne Arundel County, near BWI Airport. The first 22.5 miles of the light rail line was opened in April 1992 at a cost of near $400 million. Three extensions totaling 7.5 miles opened in late 1997 at a cost of $106 million.
Detractors remind the public that, in the winter of 1991, Gov. Schaefer compared Maryland's Eastern Shore to an outhouse (he referred to the region as a "shithouse"). When the remark circulated, Eastern Shore residents erupted in protest.
In the 1992 presidential election, Governor Schaefer endorsed Republican President George H.W. Bush over Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. "He was a great man. I liked him; he was a friend. I went up to Camp David with him."
Schaefer stepped down from his position as governor on January 18, 1995 after serving the maximum two four-year terms.
Read more about this topic: William Donald Schaefer
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