Agnew 's four-year term as county executive saw a moderately progressive administration , which included the building of new schools , increases to teachers ' salaries , reorganization of the police department , and improvements to the water and sewer systems . His anti-discrimination bill passed , and gave him a reputation as a liberal , but its impact was limited in a county where the population was 97 percent white . His relations with the increasingly militant civil rights movement were sometimes troubled . In a number of desegregation disputes involving private property , Agnew appeared to prioritize law and order , showing a particular aversion to any kind of demonstration . His reaction to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Alabama , in which four children died , was to refuse to attend a memorial service at a Baltimore church , and to denounce a planned demonstration in support of the victims
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Spiro Agnew