What If...

It is fascinating how one small insignificant event can alter the course of history. In the late 1960s, George P. Mahoney was a politically connected paving contractor in Maryland. He incurred the enmity of Governor Millard J. Tawes, who literally hated him. Mahoney was a horse racing enthusiast who coveted the relatively insignificant position of Racing Commissioner of Maryland. This position was an appointment of the Maryland Governor who hated Mahoney and refused to appoint him. Mahoney swore revenge and became active politically. In 1968, Thomas B. Finan was the Democratic candidate for governor. Mahoney ran as an Independent and split the Democratic vote. As a result, one Spiro Agnew, an obscure Baltimore School Board member, was elected Governor of Maryland. When he was selected to be Richard Nixon’s running mate for Vice President of the United States, Marvin Mandel, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates was elected to replace him. At that time Maryland did not have a Lieutenant Governor and a vacant Governor’s position was filled by election by the House of Delegates. The Baltimore Sun disagreed with Mandel’s agenda and pursued a vendetta, culminating in his conviction on charges of, among others, bribery. Mandel appealed the conviction which was reversed by the Supreme Court. Mandel was released from prison and re-instated as Governor, completing his term.

What if Governor Tawes had appointed Mahoney to the position of Racing Commissioner? Would Thomas B. Finan be elected Governor? Would Spiro Agnew ever rise from the obscurity of the Baltimore County School Board and subsequently become Vice President of the United States? Would Marvin Mandel ever become Governor of Maryland, be convicted of bribery and be exonerated by the Supreme Court?

One small, insignificant action changed many lives and events.