He received degrees from Williams College magna cum laude in 1958 and Harvard Law School in 1961 and was admitted into the Maryland Bar in 1962.
He was active in many civic and political organizations, including the D.C. Bar Association and the Democratic Central Committee, and served as a Maryland state senator.
[3] Gilchrist's administration was marked by housing problems and a sewer moratorium, pressure to control spending, a reorganization of County government to make it more centralized, and controversies over appointments.
He was able to expand social services while holding down the size of government, and oversaw the opening of the Ride-On bus system, the Laytonsville landfill, and the incinerator at Dickerson, which had been planned during the Gleason administration[citation needed].
Charles Gilchrist started "Desayuno y Dialogue", a breakfast program for the homeless and poor in the Washington, DC neighborhoods of Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant.