Mohler honored with unveiling of official portrait

Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler, whose brief tenure ends Monday, was honored Wednesday as a dedicated leader who packed all he could into his seven months in office. The occasion was the unveiling of Mohler’s portrait, the 13th county executive portrait to line a hallway at the Historic Courthouse in Towson. Photographed by county photographer and designer Lauren Watley, it shows a grinning Mohler in front of the county seal. Kevin Loeb, who worked by Mohler’s side as chief of staff, said Mohler provided a steady hand as county officials reeled from the unexpected death of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in May. “In true Mohler fashion, he knew he was the boss and he had to keep it together. … As time passed, he knew he had to move forward and everyone wouldn’t move forward if he didn’t. So he got down to business,” Loeb said. County Council Chairman Julian Jones listed Mohler’s accomplishments: more money for pedestrian and bike safety, speaking out against gun violence, supporting public transit, negotiating a financial assistance deal for the Tradepoint Atlantic project in Sparrows Point. “He packed probably at least a year and a half in these six months,” Jones said.