Hutchinson out of executive race

By Bryan P. Sears
Posted: October 28, 2009

Donald Hutchinson won’t seek a third term as county executive.

The two-term Democratic executive confirmed he’s made a handful of phone calls over the last few weeks to friends and supporters telling them he doesn’t have any interest in a year of campaigning.

“If someone wants to appoint me county executive, I’ll take the job because I loved the job,” Hutchinson, 63, told me.”And I think one of the unfortunate  things you learn about politics is that when you (become county executive) as young as I did there’s a tremendous amount of knowledge that you accumulate over time and you don’t get to come back and get a do-over.”

Hutchinson was 32 when he was sworn in as county executive in 1978.

Raising money and creating an organization for a campaign were all doable, he said.

“I just don’t have a campaign in me. I don’t have the fire in the belly to have a full-fledged, 12-month organized campaign,” Hutchinson said. “I don’t feel like I can do it, and I don’t feel like giving up the things I like to do and, quite frankly, I don’t want to walk away from something I started a year-and-a-half ago.

“I like what I’m doing now,” said Hutchinson, who is president of the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore. “I enjoy my work with the zoo. I like going to ballgames. I have a daughter who lives in England, and I can take off to go visit her or when she comes here I can spend time with her.”

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