Popular Politician Named Outstanding Leader
by Leadership Montgomery
2003 Award Recognizes a “Great Public Servant”
by Charlie Maier, (’93)
Leadership Montgomery
May 16, 2003
Once you’ve been honored by the
humane society as a humanitarian, it’s clear that even cats and
dogs love you.
Humanitarian of the Year is just
one of the many accolades that have been bestowed on Isiah “Ike”
Leggett, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party and former
member of the Montgomery County Council. To his many honors, he
can now add the title of recipient of Leadership Montgomery’s
2003 Outstanding Leader Award.
“If you are looking for a nominee
that has exemplified leadership at its best,” said Sol Graham
(’03), “Ike Leggett is your man.” Graham, president of Quality
Biological, Inc., of Rockville, nominated Leggett for the annual
honor, citing his “commitment to the citizens of Montgomery
County,” and to ethnic groups in particular.
“I have known Ike Leggett since
1985,” Graham said. “He has always been a person of integrity.”
The award is sponsored again this
year by Sandy Spring Bank. The award will presented on Saturday,
June 28 at the Celebration of Leadership at Indian Spring
Country Club. This event is the commencement of the 2003 Class
and the biggest fundraiser of the organization. If you’d like to
attend or are interested in becoming a sponsor, please visit
www.Leadership-MontgomeryMD.org.
Along with his recognition by
Leadership Montgomery, Leggett’s list of honors runs long and
deep. The American Lung Association, the Boy Scouts of America,
the American Bar Association, and the Metropolitan Washington
Public Health Association have all honored Ike Leggett’s
contributions to their organizations and to the community.
Ike Leggett, 57, emerged quietly on
the local civic scene in 1981, as an appointee to the Montgomery
County Human Relations Commission. His leadership abilities were
soon acknowledged and he was elected as commission chair two
years later. In 1986 he made his first run for public office and
was elected to the Montgomery County Council. He ran three more
times and was elected each time, serving as council president
three times.
During his 16 years on the county
council, Leggett became known as a skilled negotiator, often
brokering compromises between opposing views. He championed a
ban on smoking in restaurants and pushed for progressive “living
wage” laws. During the mid-1990s, he was a strong advocate for
tax cuts during tight economic times.
“Ike Leggett is an individual who
has made extraordinary contributions to our community in so many
ways,” said Council President Michael Subin (’00), who served on
the council with Leggett during his years in office. Subin noted
that a recent farewell tribute to Leggett raised money to fund
two scholarships in Leggett’s name at Montgomery College,
cementing Leggett’s legacy “in a very fitting and lasting way of
paying tribute to one of our great public servants.”
Although he is now logging hundreds
of miles from Oakland to Ocean City as chairman of the
Democratic Party, Ike Leggett still lives in Burtonsville with
his wife, Catherine. He’s still an active member of the
Resurrection Baptist Church of Silver Spring, the Board of
Directors of Maryland College of Art and Design, the Washington
Area Housing Partnership, Montgomery County Boys and Girls Club,
and the African American Business Council.
Leggett, who seems to defy the
normal turmoil of traffic by turning up promptly at function
after function, is also a member of Montgomery County’s NAACP
and Urban League, the Vietnam Veteran’s Leadership Forum, the
National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Phi
Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, Burtonsville Kiwanis and the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity.
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