A Sound Effect
David Harrington Helped Take Us Higher
By Raoul Dennis
DENNIS
MAIN PHOTO: Harrington at the podium with his grandson sharing the stage and spotlight in February 2020.
David Harrington was part of the generation that helped to put Prince Georges County, Maryland on the map as a viable economic commercial center and residential destination. The political and business leader’s work will be recognized in county history as that which helped to etch the county’s current standing and direction as a thriving and growing modern jurisdiction.
Harrington died this week. He was 68.
The path that Prince George’s County rests upon today was set in part by leaders like the Howard University graduate. His entire career --- whether on the county council, as a state delegate or in his position as president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce --- was spent in public service in one position or another carving out the kind of footing that would give county residents and business owners a fair and equal place among neighboring jurisdictions.
Like any leader, David had his rough edges. Ever focused on the big picture, Harrington was comfortable pushing past the small details. He successfully combined his intellect and political know-how with his passion for community service. David could be sitting in a meeting and presented with a problem, pull up his cell phone, make two calls and put the phone down with the problem solved. It was the kind of direct and sometimes forceful leadership that got things done. It was also the kind of leadership that was buttressed by over 25 years of high-level connections and relationships that he brought with him wherever he worked and to whomever he supported.
If anything, it’s not a question of the size or impression of the footprint Harrington made. It’s more a challenge of the loss of such a learned and valued voice in county growth. No one will ever say that David didn’t give enough. But we will miss the idea-fueled thinking man through whom so much could be processed and so many could be connected. In the months ahead, more than a few will reach for the phone in a ‘let me call David on this…’ moment only to realize that time has passed.
Harrington’s work will continue through the great path he’s helped chart for the county and through a new generation of county activists, business leaders and public servants who were touched by his counsel.
