John not the First Angelos to Flirt With a Run
There was a time, after all, when Peter Angelos was popular
I was a little surprised to see John Angelos name pop up in relation to Maryland’s vacant U.S. Senate seat:
A son of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos appears to be testing the waters for a potential U.S. Senate run.
Some Maryland residents over the weekend were invited to participate in a poll that floats John Angelos as a candidate in the Democratic primary race to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D).
Attempts to reach Angelos directly and through an attorney were not immediately successful. Angelos has not filed for the seat, according to the Federal Elections Commission and the Maryland State Board of Elections. Currently, there are no candidates for the seat based in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
The idea that John Angelos, a guy known to live in Nashville, known to been embroiled in a lawsuit against his brother, and a guy who has been far from forthcoming about his control of the Orioles, could compete in a Democratic primary is laughable.
But he is not the only Angelos who flirted with a run for statewide office.
Peter Angelos may be best known as a Democratic donor, but he was a Baltimore City Councilman for one term from 1959 to 1963. He ran in the Democratic primary for City Council President in 1963 and Mayor in 1967, losing both times to Tommy D'Alesandro.
Angelos made his money later as a litigation attorney, and purchased the Orioles at auction in 1993 for $173 million. After Baltimore’s attempt to secure an NFL expansion franchise failed, Angelos launched a bid to purchase the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and move them to Baltimore. Baltimoremeans at the time practically acted like Angelos could walk on water for everything he was doing to save the city.
With William Donald Schaefer’s 2nd term ending in 1994, Angelos briefly considered running for Governor in 1994. Had he done so, he would practically have been guaranteed victory due to his overwhelming popularity.
It was a different time to be sure…
Nothing came of Peter Angelos running statewide. It is a near certainty that the same will ultimately be said of John Angelos as well.