Casper R. Taylor Jr. (December 19, 1934 – April 24, 2023) was an American politician who served as Speaker of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

from 1994 to 2003, amongst the longest Speaker's tenures in Maryland history. He also represented Districts 1C and 2A in the House of Delegates from 1975 to 2003.

Education

Taylor graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1956, where he was a member of the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

ROTC. He started out his career as a restaurant owner, and was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1974.

Career

Taylor is credited with helping to bring millions of dollars of state and private investments to the aid of his struggling district in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, including the state-backed Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort. In the State House, Taylor authored many pieces of legislation over the course of his tenure, including the "One Maryland" bill, aimed at providing tax havens and other incentives for businesses to invest in depressed parts of the state. Taylor was first elected to the House of Delegates for the 1975 legislative session to represent District 2A. In the 1994 election, he successfully ran as delegate for the newly created District 1C. Taylor served until 2003 after losing his seat in the 2002 election. His loss is generally attributed to redrawn legislative district lines that added four heavily Republican precincts in Washington County to his traditionally Democratic district based around Cumberland, and his support for some

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

laws, which were unpopular in the rural parts of his district. Taylor received numerous awards, including the Legislator Recognition Award from the Maryland Association of Counties in 1994 and 2001. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of Notre Dame in 2001,

Frostburg State University Frostburg State University (FSU) is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The university is the only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington passageway in the state's Appalachian highlan ...

in 2000, and Villa Julie College in 1995. He received the First Citizen Award from 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 ...

in 2003 and the Thomas Kennedy Award from the

in 2004. In June 2003, Taylor became a lobbyist and government relations consultant for the Alexander and Cleaver firm in Annapolis. In January 2007, the new House of Delegates office building in Annapolis was named after Taylor. In May 2022, the Baltimore Street Bridge in Cumberland, Maryland, was named after Taylor.

Personal life and death

Taylor was

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and was a former member of the Maryland Catholic Conference's administrative board. He died at his home in Cumberland, Maryland, on April 24, 2023, at the age of 88. On April 29, Governor Wes Moore ordered state flags to fly at half-staff in Taylor's honor.

Election results

*2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 01C ::Voters to choose one: : *1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 01C ::Voters to choose one: : *1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 01C ::Voters to choose one: : *1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 2A ::Voters to choose one: : *1986 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 2A ::Voters to choose one: :

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Casper R. Jr. 1934 births 2023 deaths People from Frostburg, Maryland Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Cumberland, Maryland University of Notre Dame alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly Catholic politicians from Maryland