Editing Spiro Agnew (section)

===Political awakening===
In the 1950s, Agnew volunteered for the congressional campaigns of [[U.S. Representative]] [[James Devereux]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 20, 1968 |title=Nation: The Counterpuncher |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,838729-7,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |location=New York, NY |publisher=[[Time Inc.]] |page=7 |access-date=December 28, 2023}}</ref> Agnew made his first bid for political office in 1956, when he sought to be a Republican candidate for Baltimore County Council. He was turned down by local party leaders, but nevertheless campaigned vigorously for the Republican ticket. The election resulted in an unexpected Republican majority on the council, and in recognition for his party work, Agnew was appointed for a one-year term to the county Zoning Board of Appeals at a salary of $3,600 per year.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=55–56}} This [[quasi-judicial]] post provided an important supplement to his legal practice, and Agnew welcomed the prestige connected with the appointment.{{sfn|Cohen|Witcover|1974|pp=20–21}} In April 1958, he was reappointed to the Board for a full three-year term and became its chairman.{{sfn|Cohen|Witcover|1974|pp=17–18}}

In the November 1960 elections, Agnew decided to seek election to the county [[Maryland Circuit Courts|circuit court]], against the local tradition that sitting judges seeking re-election were not opposed. He was unsuccessful, finishing last of five candidates.{{sfn|Wepman|2001}} This failed attempt raised his profile, and he was regarded by his Democratic opponents as a Republican on the rise.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=59–61}} The 1960 elections saw the Democrats win control of the county council, and one of their first actions was to remove Agnew from the Zoning Appeals Board. According to Agnew's biographer, [[Jules Witcover]], "The publicity generated by the Democrats' crude dismissal of Agnew cast him as the honest servant wronged by the machine."{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=62–63}} Seeking to capitalize on this mood, Agnew asked to be nominated as the Republican candidate in the 1962 U.S. congressional elections, in [[Maryland's 2nd congressional district]]. The party chose the more experienced [[J. Fife Symington Jr.|J. Fife Symington]], but wanted to take advantage of Agnew's local support. He accepted their invitation to run for county executive, the county's chief executive officer; Democrats had held the executive's post and its predecessor, chairman of the board of county commissioners, since 1895.{{sfn|Wepman|2001}}{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=62–63}}

Agnew's chances in 1962 were boosted by a feud in the Democratic ranks, as the retired former county executive, Michael Birmingham, fell out with his successor and defeated him in the Democratic primary. By contrast with his elderly opponent, Agnew was able to campaign as a "White Knight" promising change; his program included an anti-discrimination bill requiring public amenities such as parks, bars and restaurants be open to all races, policies that neither Birmingham nor any Maryland Democrat could have introduced at that time without angering supporters.{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=64–71}}{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p=20}} In the November election, despite an intervention by Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on Birmingham's behalf,{{sfn|Witcover|1972|pp=72–73}} Agnew beat his opponent by 78,487 votes to 60,993.{{sfn|Coffey|2015|p=16}} When Symington lost to Democrat [[Clarence Long]] in his congressional race, Agnew became the highest-ranking Republican in Maryland.{{sfn|Cohen|Witcover|1974|pp=72–73}}