By David Nitkin
                            Sun Staff
                    Originally published March 2, 2002

                    Gov. Parris N. Glendening and his new wife, Jennifer E. Crawford, are
                    expecting a baby in early September, the governor's office said last night.

                    "Both Jennifer and I are very excited," Glendening told the Associated
                    Press in his only interview on the subject.

                    The announcement occurs just over a month after the wedding and is the
                    latest in a recent series of milestones in the governor's life. On Nov. 19, he
                    divorced his second wife, Frances Hughes Glendening, after a 16-month
                    separation.

                    On Jan. 25, Glendening, 59, and Crawford, 35, his former deputy chief of
                    staff, were wed in a civil ceremony inside Government House. Two
                    weeks later, the governor entered Johns Hopkins Hospital to have a
                    cancerous lesion removed from his scalp. Tests showed the cancer had
                    not spread, and the prognosis for a full recovery is excellent.

                    "It's been an extraordinary month," Glendening told the AP. "It was a little
                    scary," added Crawford, speaking of the surgery.

                    Glendening's communications director, Michael Morrill, said the governor
                    and Crawford would not make themselves available for further interviews.
                    "That's what we've decided," Morrill said. "They chose to do this
                    interview once, and everybody has access to the Associated Press."

                    Crawford said she learned of her pregnancy several weeks ago, and has
                    experienced some morning sickness. It is the first child for Crawford, who
                    has not been married previously. Glendening has a son, Raymond, 22,
                    from his second marriage.

                    State archivist Edward C. Papenfuse said he could not immediately recall
                    if a sitting Maryland governor had become a father while in office. "I'm
                    thinking of the 20th-century governors, and I can't think of any,"
                    Papenfuse said.

                    Crawford was a longtime aide to Glendening, working on his campaigns
                    and rising through a series of jobs with increasing responsibilities. On the
                    day of the wedding, she resigned from her state position, which paid
                    $107,732 yearly.

                    Their relationship had been the source of speculation for more than a year,
                    but the governor repeatedly refused to comment on his personal life and
                    Crawford would not grant interviews.

                    Although Glendening aides said Crawford had considered seeking another
                    job or perhaps returning to school, those plans have changed. "I think I'll
                    be focusing a lot on my family, getting ready for the baby and taking care
                    of my husband," she said.

                    Glendening is prevented from seeking a third term and will leave office in
                    January. "I'm in a good position to put a lot of time into parenting," he
                    said.

                    Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun