Marvin Mandel

Marvin Mandel
56th Governor of Maryland
In office 1969-1979
Preceded by	Spiro T. Agnew
Succeeded by	Harry R. Hughes
Born	April 19 1920 (1920--) (age 87) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Oberfeld (divorced 1974), Jeanne Dorsey
Children	Gary and Ellen (from Barbara)
Religion	Jewish

Marvin Mandel (b. April 19, 1920), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 56^th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1969 to 1979. He was Maryland's first, and to date only Jewish governor.

Mandel was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore City Public Schools. He also attended Baltimore City College before receiving his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Mandel has been the chairman of the Governor's Commission on the Structure and Efficiency of State Government since 2003. He has also been a member of the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland since 2003.

Mandel was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1952, representing Baltimore City (District 5). Mandel was chosen as speaker of the house in 1963 and served in that position until 1969, at which point he was elected Governor by the Maryland General Assembly following the resignation of Spiro Agnew (Agnew had resigned as governor to serve as Vice President of the United States under former President Richard Nixon). Mandel was elected by the people in 1970 and again in 1974.

Mandel's administration was notable for many reasons. While governor, the executive branch of the Maryland government was reorganized into twelve departments. The mass-transit system of Maryland fostered under him, enacting plans for the establishment of subways for Baltimore City and the Washington, DC suburbs. Additionally, a large public school construction initiative was undertaken while he was governor.

Mandel married the former Barbara Oberfeld on June 8, 1941 and had two children, Gary and Ellen. In 1974, while governor, Mandel divorced Barbara Oberfield and married the former Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey, who died October 6, 2001.

The negative highlight of Mandel's governorship was his conviction of mail fraud and racketeering. As a result, on June 4, 1977, Governor Mandel notified Lieutenant Governor Blair Lee III that Lee would serve as acting governor until further notice (Lee continued to serve as acting governor until January 15, 1979, when Mandel rescinded his letter appointing Lee Acting Governor two days before the expiration of his second full elective term). Mandel served 19 months in prison before having his sentence commuted by President Ronald Reagan. Based on the reasoning of recent opinion of the U.S. Suprme Court, a U.S. District Judge overturned Mandel's conviction in 1987. A year later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed.

Mandel lived briefly in Arnold, Maryland and currently lives and practices law in Annapolis, Maryland.

References

• Marvin Mandel biography. December 09, 1998. Maryland State Archives. Accessed Oct 25, 2004. [1]

External links

• Maryland Manual official state gubernatorial biography
• First Lady Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey Mandel
• Jeanne Mandel gravesite
• Mandel bio from archive
• Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey Mandel from archives

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