Schaefer Was Educator for Havre de Grace’s Racine

William Donald Schaefer carried many titles in his career.

Mayor.

Governor.

Comptroller.

Icon.

Educator.

Educator?

Ask Havre de Grace resident and public transit activist Kevin Racine how he got involved in government and it won’t be long before he mentions William Donald Schaefer.

“He taught me how to address people,” Racine said. “There’s a way to handle yourself. You can still show who you are, but you want to be gracious enough to take care of what’s going on. You have to know. That’s the one thing that really came through.”

Racine, who lives on Erie Street and graduated from Havre de Grace High School in 1984, volunteered to run a Havre de Grace office for Schaefer’s first campaign for governor.

Racine shared his story—and a signed photo and personalized letter from Schaefer—with Patch shortly after Schaefer passed away.

Around the age of 20, he reached out to the Democratic Party about running an office for Schaefer in Havre de Grace.

“They said, who are you?,” Racine said. “I was young.”

Racine leaned on his ties to Harford County politicians Cathy Riley, Bill Cox and Eileen Rehrmann from his time as a page in Annapolis.

Racine ran an office from 204 Seneca Avenue, serving as a local hub for political signs, and taking and making phone calls on behalf of Schaefer.

He wasn’t paid—only recognized by a letter from Schaefer dated Sept. 2, 1986:

“Dear Mr. Racine,” the letter started, with “Kevin” scribbled in pen over Racine’s typed name, before continuing:

With less than a week before the primary, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for all your efforts on my behalf. I sincerely appreciate your faith in my administration, and your enthusiastic coordination of our Havre de Grace office.

Again, thank you for assisting me in my endeavors.

Sincerely,

Don

Mayor

Racine framed the letter, along with a picture, which Schaefer had signed:

To Kevin

Many thanks for your help.

Best wishes,

Don Schaefer

Mayor

“I’m going to miss him, and this picture means even more to me now,” Racine said. “If he didn’t give me the opportunity to do this, where would I be? Even though I couldn’t go to college, these are my educators. Even if you can’t afford to go to college, or you had a disability, don’t tell me you can’t learn.”

Racine credits Schaefer with giving him an opportunity when others wouldn’t.

“The best thing of it, it says it’s the Havre de Grace office,” Racine said of the letter. “People always say it’s a privilege when it comes from his desk. So I had to do something to preserve this.”

Racine has photos with a number of dignitaries he’s worked with over the years—and mental photos with many of them, including sitting presidents, with whom he didn’t think to grab a snapshot while in their company.

“Some people have said, ‘You can take this and get a job out of this. It’s like a resume.’ I never looked at it that way and I still don’t to this day,” Racine said.

Racine tried to be the open arms for the City of Havre de Grace to the man that would eventually be governor.

“Anytime Baltimore doesn’t want him, we’ll take him,” Racine remembers telling political leaders.

Schaefer made a number of visits to Havre de Grace, as to Patch since his passing.

said Schaefer’s famous vision for Baltimore’s Inner Harbor carried over to Havre de Grace’s waterfront.

His vision for the stadiums in Baltimore are also among his greatest legacies.

But Racine—who shared a moment of silence with others at a meeting last Tuesday at the Maryland Transportation Headquarters—thinks one of Schaefer’s greatest visions is both incomplete and overlooked.

 "If it was up to him, he would have taken [the light rail] all the way to Annapolis, where he served as governor," Racine said. "But the people of Anne Arundel County don’t want the light rail.”

Racine said he has argued the light rail can be a continuation of Schaefer’s genius.

“If we could turn that around, and say, ‘Let’s do this as a memory to William Donald Schaefer,’” Racine said. “Let’s build his legacy to Annapolis.”