Wayne Dougherty, former mayor of Havre de Grace, dies

Sep. 27—Former Havre de Grace Mayor Wayne Dougherty died at his home Sept. 21. He was 74.

Dougherty served as the city's mayor from 2007 to 2015. Before that, he served on the City Council from 1998 to 1999, 2002 to 2003, and 2005 to 2006. In 2003, he was the council president.

He also previously served in the Havre de Grace Police Department, as well as the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the latter from 1974 to 2001, having reached the rank of corporal, according to his obituary from Zellman Funeral Home in Havre de Grace.

Dougherty moved to Havre de Grace in 1961 and graduated from Havre de Grace High School, according to a city news release. He was married to his wife Mary for 49 years and had two children, Joseph and Maria, according to Zellman Funeral Home. Dougherty also had two grandchildren and five siblings.

Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin recalled Dougherty for caring more about results than politics.

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"He definitely was cut from an old cloth of what I call how great America once was," Martin said to The Aegis.

Martin started as mayor in 2015 after Dougherty's final term. He worked closely with Dougherty, having been on the City Council for seven years while Dougherty was mayor.

"He really got the city rolling in the right direction," Martin said. "It was an honor and a privilege to continue the work that he started."

Martin said that Dougherty also tried to work with various groups of people, trying to bring them together. He learned "the art of patience" from Dougherty, he said.

"You can succeed at anything if you just have the patience and the fortitude and the wherewithal to get to where you need to get," Martin said.

According to the funeral home, services were private. Contributions in Dougherty's memory can be made to the Harford County Humane Society.