Dennis Rochford, a former Delaware County Councilman who ran against incumbent Seventh District Congressman Bob Edgar, died July 31, writes Katie Tabeling for the delawarebusinesstimes.com.

He was 73.

Mr. Rochford was president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a trade association for ports in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“Dennis’ passing marks the end of an era for the Maritime Exchange, as he provided the vision and direction for our nonprofit for the past three decades,” said Maritme Executive Vice President LisaHimber. “His reach was tremendous, and it is felt not only in Delaware but across the country. We will miss him greatly,”

Rochford graduated from LaSalle College.  He was a U.S. Army captain in Germany and Vietnam.

He later earned a master’s degree in business from Temple University.

Rochford was a manager at Rohm and Haas Company.

He was elected to Delaware County Council in 1977.

Mr. Rochford won the 1980 Seventh District Primary but ultimately lost to incumbent Bob Edgar.

He later ran Delaware Gov. Pete du Pont’s 1988 Iowa Caucus presidential campaign.

That same year, Rochford joined the Maritime Exchange. He named  president in 1994.

Read more at delawarebusinesstimes.com about the life of Dennis Rochford.

View this interview of Dennis Rochford from January 2018 discussing how to improve Delaware’s ports.