John W. Derr (born March 18, 1941) is an American politician who was a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 3 from 1983 to 1999.

Background

Derr was appointed to the Maryland Senate to represent District 3 in 1983, which covers parts of Frederick and Washington Counties, following the death of incumbent state senator Edward P. Thomas Jr. In 1986, Derr was elected to a full term, defeating Democratic challenger Gerald Downs in the general election with 68 percent of the vote. In 1990, Senator Derr was not challenged and received 100% of the vote. In the 1994 primary election, Derr received more competition, this time from Republican Charles R. Luttrell. Luttrell managed to garner 47% of the vote. Derr went on to win the general election, this time, oddly enough, beating the same candidate, Charles R. Luttrell, who apparently switched parties to challenge Derr again. In 1998, Derr saw the end of his senatorial career. He was defeated by Republican challenger Alex X. Mooney in the Republican primary election. Mooney received a sizable majority of the votes, 63% to Derr's 37%. Mooney went on to win the general election, defeating the Democrat Ronald S. Bird.

Education

Derr attended Frederick High School in

Frederick, MD Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native A ...

. After high school, he received his B.S. from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1963. To become a chartered life underwriter (C.L.U.), Derr graduated from The American College in 1977.

Career

Prior to his political career, Derr served in

U.S. Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020, ...

from 1963 until 1969. He then started his career as an insurance agent. In 1982, Derr political career began to take shape when he became a member of the Republican Local Central Committee. Derr was selected as a delegate to the Republican Party National Convention in 1996. Derr is a past president of the Frederick Jaycees

and was named Jaycee International Senator in 1977. He is also a past president of the Frederick County Heart Association. Derr belongs to the Frederick Life Underwriters Association and is a member of the board of trustees for Frederick Memorial Hospita

While serving in the

Maryland State 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- ...

, Derr rose to the level of the

Minority Whip The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

from 1996 until he was defeated in 1999. He was the Senate Chair for the Joint Committee on Protocol and he was the chair of the Frederick County Delegation from 1995 until 1999. An article in the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' suspected that Derr was defeated because of his view on abortion rights.Washingtonpost.com: Md. GOP Seeking to Regain Its Momentum
/ref> F. Vernon Boozer suffered the same fate with his views on abortion and gun control in his loss to Andrew Harris.

References and notes

External links

* http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/former/html/msa12132.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Derr, John W. Republican Party Maryland state senators 1941 births Living people University of Maryland, College Park alumni Politicians from Frederick, Maryland The American College of Financial Services alumni 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Maryland politicians