James Robert Hooper (July 27, 1936 – January 24, 2008) was an American politician who served on the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

from 1999 to 2007.

Education

Hooper attended Bel Air High School in

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. The United States Census Bureau defines an urban area in northeast ...

Career

Hooper owned Harford Sanitation Services, which he founded with his father in 1954 and was operated after his death until its sale by his son, Bobby Ray Hooper and his daughter, Cindy Hushon. He was a member of the Harford County, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace chambers of commerce, as well as the Route 40 Business Association. He also served on the board of directors for the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

of Harford County from 1986 until his death.

Political career

Hooper served as a member of the

Harford County Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Stati ...

Council from 1982 until 1990. He was elected to the

in 1998. He was sworn in on January 13, 1999, to represent District 35 in Harford County. The hallmark of his work was constituent service. Hooper announced on November 14, 2007, that he was resigning his Senate seat due to poor health. The resignation took effect on December 31, 2007. He recommended and was replaced by State Delegate

Barry Glassman Barry Glassman (born March 24, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 7th county executive of Harford County, Maryland, from 2014 to 2022. He was previously a member of the Maryland State Senate, representing District 35 in Harford Cou ...

. Hooper was lovingly known among the Senate's pages as Senator "High Five" Hooper because he would walk into session every day and run down the line of pages and give them high-fives. He was even known to do this among his fellow senators. Hooper's unique way of saying hello at the beginning of a session put a smile on everyone's faces. Hooper succumbed to

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on January 24, 2008, at his home in

Street, Maryland Street is a rural unincorporated community in northern Harford County, Maryland, United States. One of the central villages in Street is Highland. The village had a station stop on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, at milepost 38.6, which ...

. He was 71 years old.Former State Sen. Hooper Dies Of Cancer
, ''

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...

'', January 25, 2008

Election results

*2006 race for Maryland State Senate – 35th District ::Voters to choose three: : *2002 race for Maryland State Senate – 35th District ::Voters to choose three: : *1998 race for Maryland State Senate – 35th District ::Voters to choose three: :

References

External links

Official biography from the Maryland Manual On-LineCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, J. Robert 1936 births 2008 deaths Republican Party Maryland state senators Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States People from Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland Politicians from Baltimore Deaths from cancer in Maryland Politicians from Harford County, Maryland Bel Air High School (Bel Air, Maryland) alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly