Helen Delich Bentley (November 28, 1923 – August 6, 2016) was an American politician who was a
Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
from 1985 to 1995. Before entering politics, she had been a leading maritime reporter and journalist.
Early life
Bentley was born in the copper-mining town of
Ruth, Nevada. Her parents were immigrant
Serbians
The term Serbians in English is a polysemic word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences:
* Morphology 1: Serb-ian- s, derived from the noun ''Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus having ...
, and her father was a miner.
When Bentley was eight years old, her father died of
silicosis
Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silicos ...
, a common miner's disease, and Bentley took a part-time job in a dress shop while her mother took in boarders to support the family.
While at high school, she had her first experiences of journalism and politics while working on the weekly newspaper of
Ely, Nevada, which was published by Republican state legislator
Charles Russell.
She won scholarships to study journalism at the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
, graduating in 1944 after earning a
BA degree with honors.
While at college, she worked on the Senate campaign for Democrat
James D. Scrugham, and was appointed his Senate secretary.
Career
Journalism
Following her graduation, Bentley worked for small-town newspapers in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...
, but she wanted to report hard news for a larger publication; at the time, most women journalists were limited to writing society news.
She wrote to all the main East Coast newspapers and eventually, in 1945, ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' offered her a reporting position.
She initially reported on labor and union matters, but was subsequently allocated maritime and waterfront news.
She became a widely respected maritime reporter, dealing with people from dock workers to state politicians, and also writing for port agencies and shipping companies.
Beginning in 1950 Bentley hosted a local Baltimore TV program on
WMAR
WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road (Maryland Route 45) in Towson (though with ...
, ''The Port That Built a City'', presenting maritime and transportation-related news. Later retitled ''The Port That Built a City and State'', the series was produced by Bentley until 1965 and included then-novel
live remotes from the decks of ships in Baltimore harbor during the early years of television.
During the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Bentley became aware of the congestion in the port of
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
, and traveled there to report on the problems of supplying American troops.
President Johnson became aware of her report, and subsequently improvements were made to port facilities in
Cam Ranh Bay to relieve pressure on Saigon.
Politics
In 1969, Bentley was offered a seat on the
Federal Maritime Commission
The United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is an independent federal agency based in Washington, D.C. that is responsible for the regulation of oceanborne international transportation of the U.S. It is chaired by Daniel B. Maffei.
His ...
. However, she declined and asked for the position of chair instead. She was appointed and chaired the commission from 1969 to 1975.
The position made her the highest-ranking woman in
President Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...
's administration.
During her tenure, Bentley advocated for federal support for American shipbuilding yards.
Bentley challenged
Democratic incumbent
Clarence Long
Clarence Dickinson "Doc" Long, Jr. (December 11, 1908 – September 18, 1994) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman who represented the Maryland's 2nd congressional district, ...
in in 1980 and 1982. She defeated Long on her third attempt in 1984, and was elected to the
99th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1985, to January 3, 1995.
During her time in office, Bentley was a strong advocate for protectionist trade policies in support of U.S. manufacturing and the
U.S. Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
fleet.
She also introduced legislation which enabled
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
to be dredged, allowing larger cargo ships to access the port of Baltimore.
In the 1990s, she was sympathetic towards Serbians during the civil war in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, and opposed U.S. military involvement in that conflict.
![Helen Delić Bentli i Dejan Stojanović](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Helen_Deli%C4%87_Bentli_i_Dejan_Stojanovi%C4%87.jpg)
Bentley was not a candidate for reelection to the
104th Congress
The 104th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...
in 1994, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination for
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
. Despite an endorsement from the incumbent Democratic governor
William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...
, she was defeated in the Republican primary by the more conservative
Ellen Sauerbrey
Ellen Richmond Sauerbrey (born September 9, 1937) is an American politician from Maryland and the former head of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. She was nominated to the Bureau in September 2 ...
.
When her successor in Congress,
Bob Ehrlich
Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House of ...
, gave up his seat, Bentley sought to take the seat back in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. However, the district had been made significantly more Democratic in redistricting and included a large slice of Baltimore City, an area Bentley had never represented. She lost to Baltimore County Executive
Dutch Ruppersberger.
In 1995, Bentley founded Helen Bentley & Associates, Inc''.'', and provided consultancy services on international trade, business and government.
She was also a consultant for the Maryland Port Administration and the
Port of Baltimore, and served on the Board of Trustees for both the
Baltimore Museum of Industry
Baltimore Museum of Industry is a museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Located in an old cannery, the museum has exhibits on various types of manufacturing and industry from the early 20th century. There are several hands-on sections with ...
and the Maritime Industries Academy High School.
Electoral record
Recognition
In 2004, Bentley was inducted into the
International Maritime Hall of Fame The International Maritime Hall of Fame is a museum honouring people who have made a large contribution in the maritime field. The hall of fame inducted its first set of honorees in or about 1994. The hall is sponsored by the Maritime Association of ...
.
In 2006, as part of the port of Baltimore's 300th anniversary celebrations, the port was renamed the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
Bentley was also a member of the
Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Speaker's Medallion, First Citizen Award and Governor's International Leadership Award from the state government of Maryland.
Personal life
Bentley was married to William Roy Bentley, who died in 2003 from a stroke. The couple had no children. She died at the age of 92, at her home in
Timonium, Maryland
Timonium is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,926. Prior to 2010 the area was part of the Lutherville-Timonium CDP. The Maryland State Fair is held in Ti ...
, from brain cancer.
See also
*
Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
A Few Good Women... The Honorable Helen Delich Bentley*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Helen Delich
1923 births
2016 deaths
The Baltimore Sun people
People from White Pine County, Nevada
American people of Serbian descent
University of Missouri alumni
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Women in Maryland politics
Federal Maritime Commission members
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
Journalists from Maryland
Candidates in the 2002 United States elections
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
20th-century American women politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States