When 500,000 copies of Maryland's state highway map roll off the presses next month, they will be missing a familiar feature.
For the first time in a generation or more, the map won't include a photograph of the governor. And while that omission might have gotten somebody fired under the previous administration, it pleases Parris N. Glendening.
"During the transition, we heard frantic calls that the State Highway Administration was holding up the map for my picture," recalled Mr. Glendening. "I told them maybe just put in an environmental message in there instead."
Call him shy. Call him self-effacing. But just don't expect the former college professor to require every public highway, building or other facility to prominently display his name and photograph.
SHA officials say the gubernatorial photo has been a standard for the state map since at least the 1960s and probably longer.
But Mr. Glendening says he doesn't see what public purpose is served by that feature. He has decided he doesn't want his name on "all the signs, the bus benches, the welcome signs and everything else."
"I know people find this strange for someone in politics to say it, but I really do tend to be relatively shy and not that extraordinary of an outgoing person," Mr. Glendening said.
Former Gov. William Donald Schaefer was not so bashful. As mayor of Baltimore and later as governor, he wanted his name posted prominently to remind voters who was behind government projects.
Since Inaugural Day, Mr. Schaefer's name has been covered up, painted over and wiped away, but not always replaced. SHA officials note, for instance, that the "Welcome to Maryland" signs along major highways no longer mention who is governor.
"Four years from now, there aren't going to be a lot of voters in the state who don't know my name," Mr. Glendening said. "I'll be judged on the quality of my work and not on how many places my name is plastered."
As for public benches, "a tranquil color might be a better way to do it," he said.
The new policy has left some agencies confused. Lobbies that once were adorned with a photograph of Mr. Schaefer have been left with a bare spot on the wall. Agencies are permitted to post Mr. Glendening's photograph, but it isn't required, and officials have to ask for a copy.
"As far as I know, there will be no pictures," said Steve Cassard of the Department of General Services, which maintains state-owned facilities.