Democratic primary election and faced Gleason in the general election. Gleason won the general election, receiving 53 percent of the vote. Gleason's tenure was marked by an extensive reorganization of Montgomery County's government in 1972 and by conflicts with the Montgomery County Council and his constituents. Loath to compromise, Gleason threatened to withhold Montgomery County funds from Washington Metro, which he had helped plan and which he avidly supported, unless it promised to build two lines into the County. He refused to play party politics, and instead appointed department heads and staff with an even-handedness based on merit. Later life and death On February 1, 1978, Gleason announced his retirement from politics to pursue a career of writing fiction. Gleason died from complications from prostate cancer at his home on September 4, 2008. Electoral history 1962 1964 1970 1974 References 1921 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American politicians Deaths from prostate cancer Montgomery County, Maryland Executives Maryland Republicans Politicians from Cleveland United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Maryland