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Edward L. Cochran

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Edward L. Cochran
County Executive of Howard County, Maryland
In office
December 1974 – December 1978
Preceded byOmar J. Jones
Personal details
Born (1929-01-01) January 1, 1929 (age 95)
Political partyDemocratic Party
WebsiteHoward County Government

Edward L. Cochran (born 1929) was a chemist and the second County Executive of Howard County, Maryland.[1]

Early life and education

Dr. Cochran graduated from Loyola University in 1949. He earned his PhD. from the University of Notre Dame.[2] In 1956 he moved from Orange, Connecticut to Ellicott City.[3] Cochran has six children. His daughter Courtney Watson, has followed a similar political career, serving on the Howard County Board of Education, then later on the Howard County Council.[4][5]

Career as a Scientist

In 1956, Cochran worked for the Applied Physics Laboratory as a chemist for most of his career except for the period which he was County Executive of Howard County, Maryland.[6] As chemist, Dr. Cochran was part of a team that carried out pioneering studies on the nature of free radicals, along with Chih-Kung Jen, Frank. J. Adrian, Vernon A. Bowers, Samuel Foner, and others, including the description of the Electron Spin Resonance spectra of simple free radicals trapped in solid matrices at cryogenic temperatures.[7] Dozens of free radicals were described for the first time, including hydrogen, deuterium, nitrogen, methane, alkyl, formyl, ethynyl and vinyl, NH2 and ND2 and cyanogen and Methylene Imino.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Their paper on electron spin resonance proved to be one of the most frequently cited APL publications into the 21st century.[15][16] Following his term as County Executive, Cochran returned as spokesman for the Applied Physics Labrotory.[17]

Political activity

Cochran was a member of the Howard County Board of Education from 1964 until 1968.[5] The Board of Education had pursued a policy of voluntary integration prior to 1964, which resulted in only a fraction of black students attending white schools.[18] As late as 1964, ten years after Brown v. Board of Education, the board stated that it would not consider forcing integration until 1967, to "allow for a reasonable period of adjustment" to the change.[18] However, in May 1964, as the county experienced increasing growth, the board was expanded to five members, and Cochran was appointed as one of the board's new members.[19] He is credited by Maryland State Senator Robert Kittleman, then the education chairman of Howard County's NAACP chapter, for providing the swing vote on 9 February 1965 to close all-black schools.[20][21][22]

Cochran served as a Howard County councilman from 1971 to 1974.

In 1974 Cochran was elected County Executive of Howard County,[23] and four out of five council positions were filled by residents of the Columbia project.[24] During his term, Ellicott City and Elkridge faced a building moratorium from 1973 that extended to 1980 due to insufficient capacity in the sewage plant in Baltimore that served portions of the county.[25] In 1978 Cochran deeded the historic African American Mount Gregory Church and Cooksville school site back from the county public works department.[26]After his term, he faced some media scrutiny for no-bid plumbing contracts to a plumbing code board member.[27]

Cochran was also a member of the Regional Planning Council, 1974–78 and of the Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board, 1977-80.[28]

In 2009, the Howard County Human Rights Commission awarded Dr. Cochran the 2009 Human Rights Award.[29] In 2010 Dr. Cochran was awarded the James Clark Jr. Medal from Howard County Community College for his role in growing Howard Community College as a member of the board of trustees.[30]

Election history

In 1970 Cochran ran for the newly created position of County Council member.[31] In 1974 Cochran became the County Executive of Howard County. In 1978 Cochran lost to J. Hugh Nichols in the Democratic primary for county executive.[32] In 1980 Cochran ran for the Howard County Board of Appeals.[33]

Year Office Election Subject Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes %
1969 Howard County Council[34] General Edward L. Cochran Democratic  
1974 Howard County Executive General Edward L. Cochran Democratic 12,847 Howard G. Crist Jr. Republican 11,235  
1978 Howard County Executive Primary Edward L. Cochran Democratic J. Hugh Nichols Democratic  

[35] [36]

References

  1. ^ Joseph R. Mitchell, David Stebenne. New City Upon a Hill: A History of Columbia, Maryland. p. 112.
  2. ^ Michael J. Clark (2 December 1974). "Howard's New Executive". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ^ "Ellicott City Events". The Baltimore Sun. 29 January 1956.
  4. ^ "Historic Ellicott City Wayside Inn up for sale Centuries-old inn is on the market, and could be converted to private residence". Explore Howard. 19 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b Luke Broadwater (7 November 2002). "Watson strides to board win Daughter of former county exec follows dad's footsteps". Baltimore Sun.
  6. ^ "As Keeper of County's Past, Activist Helps Shape Future; Preservation Group's President Uses Political Savvy, Civic Skills". The Washington Post. 13 September 2001.
  7. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v40/i1/p213_s1?isAuthorized=no
  8. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v36/i7/p1938_s1
  9. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v32/i4/p963_s1
  10. ^ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1958PhRv..112.1169J
  11. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v34/i4/p1161_s1
  12. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v40/i1/p213_s1
  13. ^ http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v1/i3/p91_1
  14. ^ http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v36/i6/p1661_s1
  15. ^ http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PR/v112/i4/p1169_1
  16. ^ W. Berl (1996). "Chih Kung Jen—A Remembrance". Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest 17 (3): 330–332.
  17. ^ Micheal J Clark (29 November 1978). "Cochran going back". The Baltimore Sun.
  18. ^ a b http://archives.explorehoward.com/news/6008414/triumphs-ruling-still-resonate-after-50-years/#ixzz2XAOtiWLo
  19. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21091-2004May12.html
  20. ^ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-02-01/news/0402010072_1_howard-county-tubman-avery
  21. ^ Susan DeFord (13 May 2004). "Difficult Change, One Step at a Time School Board's Go-Slow Ways Challenged". Baltimore Sun.
  22. ^ YLAN Q. MUI (8 March 1972). "Bringing Innovation To Schools: Integration". The Baltimore Sun.
  23. ^ Micheal J Clark (6 November 1974). "Cochran beats Crist; Democrats win council". The Baltimore Sun.
  24. ^ Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne. New City Upon a Hill: A History of Columbia, Maryland. p. 111.
  25. ^ "Howard ban on building is extended". Baltimore Sun. 28 December 1976.
  26. ^ Susan De Ford (17 February 2005). "Despite Deep Roots, a Quandary of Growing Pains; Congregation Strives to Replace Century-Old Building". Washington Post.
  27. ^ "Howard plumbing adviser gets non-bid county contracts". Baltimore Sun. 12 March 1976.
  28. ^ "County Executives". Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  29. ^ "2012 Human Rights Commission Award". Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  30. ^ "Howard Community College". Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Cochran running for Howard post". The Baltimore Sun.
  32. ^ The Baltimore Sun. 13 September 1978. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ^ "Former Howard executive Cochran tries for position on county board of appeals". The Baltimore Sun. 23 September 1980.
  34. ^ Diane Mullaly. "25 Years Ago (Week of Jan. 12-18, 1969):". The Baltimore Sun.
  35. ^ Maryland State Board of Elections
  36. ^ Howard County, Maryland - Election Returns

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