Mayor Edward Bohrer (1940–1998)

Edward Bohrer Jr., the four-term mayor of Gaithersburg, Maryland, died on August 27 at the age of 58. A public servant of vision and integrity, he was an important role model in the early days of the New Urbanism. Together with developer Joe Alfandre, he led the city council and staff through the many intricacies required for the building of Kentlands. His interventions were not confined to the granting of permits; they involved attention to detail during 10 years of Kentlands buildout. He ably maintained the vision of the commercial center, innovated by requiring the reservation of city-owned civic buildings at the center of Kentlands, and persuaded all concerned that the parcel adjacent to Kentlands should be designed as a seamless attached neighborhood. Mayor Bohrer arranged for the revitalization plan of the historic center of Gaithersburg based on new urbanist principles. He became an energetic advocate for the New Urbanism from the point of view of elected officials. Kentlands thus became a model for Maryland’s Smart Growth initiative and the new Hope VI standards promulgated under former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. The mayor led a unified council over uncharted ground with his trademark audacious but comforting stricture: trust but verify. A performance hall will be named in his mem- ory in Kentlands and a square in the downtown of Gaithersburg.