Ex-Acting Gov. of Maryland Dies of Cancer

Blair Lee III, a member of one of Maryland’s oldest political families who became the state’s acting governor after former Gov. Marvin Mandel was convicted of political corruption, has died at the age of 69.

Lee died Friday after a long bout with cancer at his home in Silver Spring.

Lee served as lieutenant governor from 1970 until 1977, when he took over as acting chief executive after Mandel was convicted. He served through 1978, when he lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to the state’s current governor, Harry Hughes.

The federal investigation that sent Mandel to prison on racketeering and other charges also forced former Vice President Spiro Agnew to resign for taking kickbacks from contractors while governor of Maryland and as vice president.

In a recent interview, Lee recalled how he inherited the job of governor at a time of a “low ebb.” He said his job was to try to bring esteem back to the office, “and I think we did a right good job of it.”

Lee, a descendant of Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lincoln Administration Cabinet member Montgomery Blair, was appointed to the newly created position of lieutenant governor by Mandel and elected to the office in 1970 and in 1974 on tickets headed by Mandel.