20060911 KDDC Condolences to the family of Paul Rappaport

Condolences to the family of Paul Rappaport.

September 11, 2006

Paul H. Rappaport

David Keelan over at Howard County Maryland Blog has a brief run-down of the accomplishments of this great public servant.

No, I did not know Mr. Rappaport. I had met him on several occasions and found him engaging and well spoken. I certainly knew him by reputation and his many years of public service are to be admired.

The Washington Post had an article in the paper on September 12^th, 2006, which can found here.

It began:

Paul H. Rappaport; Police Chief In Howard

Tuesday, September 12, 2006; Page B06

“Paul H. Rappaport, 72, who served as Howard County police chief from 1979 to 1987 and made several unsuccessful attempts at higher office as a conservative Republican in predominantly Democratic Maryland, died Sept. 10 at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. He had spindle cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

Mr. Rappaport spent 28 years as a Maryland state trooper, eventually heading the state police's intelligence unit, which collects information on organized crime. He reached the rank of major before leaving to become Howard's police chief.

A one-time Democrat, he switched his political allegiance a few years before his selection as the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey in 1994.

He and Sauerbrey, a minority leader of the Maryland House of Delegates, came within 5,993 votes of defeating Democrats Parris N. Glendening and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

The Sun Reporter, Frederick N. Rasmussen, also wrote a piece on Mr. Rappaport on September 12^th, 2006. The title of his article is: “Paul Rappaport, 72, lawyer, Howard County police chief”

The article began:

Paul H. Rappaport, a lawyer and former Howard County police chief who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Maryland attorney general, and U.S. Senate, died of cancer Sunday at Mercy Medical Center. The Ellicott City resident was 72.

"He was such a loyal friend," said Ellen R. Sauerbrey, who chose Mr. Rappaport as her running mate in her 1994 gubernatorial campaign. "When I think of Paul Rappaport, I think of a man of few words but strong principles. He had a strong backbone. He was honest and had integrity. He loved his country, the Republican Party and his family."

Howard County officials who knew and worked with Mr. Rappaport remembered him yesterday as a kind, caring and straightforward person.”

You can read the rest of Mr. Rasmussen’s article here.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com