Charles W. Gilchrist (November 12, 1936 - June 24, 1999) was an American politician and lawyer. He received degrees from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

magna cum laude in 1958 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1961 and was admitted into the Maryland Bar in 1962. He was active in many civic and political organizations, including the D.C. Bar Association and the Democratic Central Committee, and served as a Maryland state senator. In 1978 he was elected as County Executive after the retirement of James P. Gleason.Former County Executive Charles W. Gilchrist (1936 – 1999)Maryland State Archives
He died on June 24, 1999, of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

.Claudia Levy. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Jun 26, 1999. pg. B.01

Tenure as Montgomery County Executive

Gilchrist took office in 1978 after defeating his Republican opponent, Richmond M. Keeney with a margin of more than 3 to 2 and then became the first Democrat to be elected county executive in Montgomery. Gilchrist's administration was marked by housing problems and a sewer moratorium, pressure to control spending, a reorganization of County government to make it more centralized, and controversies over appointments. He was able to hold property tax raises to the level of or below inflation, and survive questions over his appointments, some of which led to the "Liquorgate" scandal, which he also survived. He was able to expand social services while holding down the size of government, and oversaw the opening of the Ride-On bus system, the Laytonsville landfill, and the incinerator at Dickerson, which had been planned during the Gleason administration. In 1984 he announced his retirement after the 1986 election to devote his life to the

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

priesthood.

Sidney Kramer Sidney Kramer (July 8, 1925 – May 16, 2022) was an American politician in the state of Maryland. He served in the Maryland Senate and as county executive for Montgomery County. Early life and education Kramer was born in Washington, D.C., on ...

, the candidate whom he supported to succeed him, won over his opponent by a 7 to 4 margin despite being relatively unknown.

In memoriam

The Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity in

Wheaton, Maryland Wheaton is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, situated north of Washington, D.C., and northwest of downtown Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton (1833–1903), a career officer in the Uni ...

is named after him. Opened on September 8, 2001, the center provides services to an increasing immigrant population in Montgomery County. On April 21, 2006, the Montgomery County Campus of

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

renamed the main building in honor of Gilchrist citing his role in the creation of the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center where the campus is located.JHU Honors Montgomery County Visionary

The JHU Gazette
April 24, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2009. In 1990, as the associate pastor o
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church
Rev. Charles Gilchrist started "Desayuno y Dialogue", a breakfast program for the homeless and poor in the Washington, DC neighborhoods of Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. The program was rename
''Charlie's Place''
in 1999 to honor his hard work and commitment to the poor.
''Charlie's Place''
continues today, serving breakfast 4 days a week and providing a myriad of aid.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilchrist, Charles W. Montgomery County, Maryland executives 1936 births 1999 deaths Williams College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly Maryland state senators